India ODI Squad:

India T20 Squad:

NEW DELHI: Sidelined from competitive cricket since March, Mohammed Shami has been included in India's ODI and T20s squad that is slated to take on Australia early next year. Aiding Shami him in the fast bowling department in the ODIs will be a returning Ishant Sharma, who last played for India almost a year back.India play five ODIs and three T20s starting January 12, in which a string of experienced and uncapped India players will get to tour down under. Suresh Raina has surprisingly been left out for the ODI series while the left-hander has secured a place for the T20 matches. Also marking an expected return to the side is allrounder Ravindra Jadeja , who scalped 23 wickets from four Tests against South Africa, to go with 38 wickets in four Ranji Trophy matches.Shami, 25, was one of India's bright sparks at the World Cup, finishing fourth in the wicket-takers list with 17 scalps at an average of 17.29 and economy rate of 4.81 from seven matches. In his absence, India have struggled to find a settled pace-attack. Considering the pounding they took during the limited-overs series against South Africa, Shami's return on Australian pitches will give the inconsistent pace attack a much-needed.Shami, who had undergone knee surgery after World Cup, has just made his comeback to competitive cricket in the Vijay Hazare trophy. He had played two matches with figures of 2/52 in 10 overs against UP and 1/40 in 8 overs against Madhya Pradesh. Ishant, meanwhile, was considered an automatic choice after his impressive showing in the Test format. It was reported that Ishant was being considered for the limited-overs series against South Africa but he pulled a hamstring during a Ranji match and was rested keeping in mind the Test series.Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra, both of whom have been out of national recognition for long, have made inspired comebacks in the T20s squad. Yuvraj has endured a rather healthy Vijay Hazare Trophy for Punjab, where the Punjab batsman has scored 341 runs in five matches with a highest of 98 not out against Services.Yuvraj, the architect of India's win in the 2007 World T20 and the World Cup in 2011 had been woefully out of touch, and played his last game for India in the final of the World T20 in Dhaka last year, where he scored a painstaking 11 off 31 balls. Chairman of selectors, Sandeep Patil though, had some encouraging words to say for one of India's most-decorated match-winners: "Yuvraj is and has always been a special player. Both the BCCI and the skipper are happy with his progress. ​We can't guarantee him a place, but a chance to perform will be given. We will need experienced players in the T20 World Cup. Australia tour is a perfect shot to give them a chance."Nehra on the other hand, has hardly had match practice following the IPL in May. In fact, his last limited-over game for India dates back to 2011. However, his inclusion was backed by some strong words from Patil. "Ashish Nehra has been a consistent performer in the T20s, and we believe now is the right time to try him out," Patil said during the media briefing. "The team that has been announced has also been selected keeping the Asia Cup and the World T20 into consideration."The surprise inclusions do not end there. Himachal Pradesh allrounder Rishi Dhawan and Punjab left-arm seamer Brainder Sran have earned their maiden call-ups. Rishi has been a prolific scorer for Himachal and in the IPL over the years, and has registered impressive figures in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. In five matches, Rishi has scored 252 runs, and his match-winning 117 propelled Himachal into the knockouts.Sran has played just one IPL game for Rajasthan Royals to go with his 34 wickets from 11 first-class games and 14 wickets in six matches in the current Vijay Hazare Trophy. The 23-year-old Brainder has so far played 11 first-class matches for Punjab since making his debut against Odisha in 2011. He has taken 32 wickets at an average of 34.06.Baroda allrounder Hardik Pandya is another name that has made it to the T20 list. Pandya had been a key figure for Mumbai Indians during the IPL, which the side eventually won. The batting has mostly remains the same with Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane being assigned the responsibility of doing the bulk of scoring across both formats. Manish Pandey, who scored 71 and 19 runs in his only ODI and T20 respectively, has been added as another option in the ODI line-up.Patil cleared the speculation surrounding MS Dhoni 's future, announcing that he will remain India's captain till the World T20. Following an abysmal run in the limited-overs front since the World Cup where India lost the ODIs against Bangladesh and later South Africa, Dhoni's future was reportedly a question mark, with many sections of the media believing that this might be Dhoni's final series as an active India cricketer.He even shared his views about the players who have not been named for the tour, despite playing for India in the recent past: "For those who have missed the cut, the omission doesn't mean that the BCCI has written him off."Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (capt/wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Brainder SranShikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajnkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Harbhajan Singh, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra