Mohammad Shami makes a comeback as selectors pick Indian team for ICC World T20

MS Dhoni-led Team India will open their World Twenty20 campaign against New Zealand on March 15.

New Delhi: Mohammad Shami made a comeback to Indian squad as selectors picked Indian squad for World T20 2016 and Asia Cup in New Delhi on Friday.

Hon.Secretary @ianuragthakur announces the teams for #Asiacup & #WorldT20https://t.co/0s5lxt3y4y

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 5, 2016

The MS Dhoni-led side will open their World Twenty20 campaign against New Zealand on March 15 and will go on to play against arch rivals Pakistan on March 19 in Dharamsala.

India will have two more games in Super 10 on March 23 against Qualifier 1 and against Australia on March 27 in Mohali.

“When selectors decide the final combination, we give importance to domestic performance,” said chairman of selection committee Sandeep Patil.

“Whether he is fit, a contributor in the real sense which will benefit the outcome of the entire tour. It is not only about seniors, we are looking at players’ current performances,” he added.

Discussing Mohammad Shami’s inclusion in the side, Patil said, “We have 30 days now, so Shami has time. We have good time for making a call on Shami, he has been one of the best bowlers. He has recovered.”

“The experiments were done in the Australian tour. If we needed a replacement, we wanted to find the cricketer best suited for a position. Here, the players get a short time to make a point. We discussed lot of names,” added Patil.

When asked about Amit Mishra's exclusion from the squad, Patil said, -"You cannot let your emotions drive you when selecting team, we did discuss Amit Mishra and many others but this was the best combination.-"

Team India for ICC World T20:

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (Captain and wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Pawan Negi, Mohammad Shami.