Sanju Samson

MANCHESTER — Uncapped wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson and leg-spinning all-rounder Karn Sharma were both included Tuesday in India’s 17-man squad for the five-match one-day series and lone Twenty20 against England.

The 19-year-old Samson was a member of the India side that finished fifth at this year’s Under-19 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year and has starred for the Rajasthan Royals in the domestic Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament.

He was also India A’s top-scorer in the recent quadrangular one-day series in Australia, with 244 runs in seven innings at an average of more than 81. Karn too was in the India A squad for that series, playing three games and also performing well in the IPL with 15 wickets at just over 25 apiece for the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Now Karn will look to fill the leg-spin vacancy caused by Amit Mishra’s absence due to a back injury, although Samson’s chances may well depend on whether India captain and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni takes a break after what will have been an already lengthy tour for those players also involved in the ongoing Test series with England.

India, the reigning 50-over world champion, beat host England in the final of last year’s one-day Champions Trophy Tournament at Birmingham’s Edgbaston ground.

The first of five ODIs on the current trip will take place in Bristol, south-west England, on August 25, with the remainder of the series in Cardiff, Nottingham, Birmingham and Leeds before a lone Twenty20 international at Edgbaston on September 7 rounds off India’s ten-week tour of England.

Thursday is due to see England and India start the third of five Tests at Manchester’s Old Trafford, with the series all square at 1-1.

India squads:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt/wkt), Virat Kohli (vice-capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Umesh Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Sanju Samson (wkt), Karn Sharma.

 
[wpResize]