Pacer Mohammed Shami has returned to the India squad after being absent for more than a year for the upcoming five-match T20I series against visiting England, starting January 22. Sanju Samson has retained his spot in the 15-member squad led by Suryakumar Yadav.

The selectors have picked five spinners, namely Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy, and Washington Sundar, but it is the return of 34-year-old Shami that should excite the fans. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Shami's inclusion should come as a welcome change, considering he impressed in the domestic circuit since completing an arduous rehabilitation process after last playing for the national side in the 2023 ODI World Cup final. Shami should naturally make the squad for next month's Champions Trophy.

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A major exclusion is Shubman Gill, vice-captain of the side in the last T20 World Cup. Kolkata will host the series opener, with the remaining four matches scheduled in Chennai (Jan 25), Rajkot (Jan 28), Pune (Jan 31) and Mumbai (Feb 2). The two countries will also play a three-match ODI series from February 6.

Team: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (vc), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk).

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