Karthik, Thakur return to India ODI squad for New Zealand series

New Delhi, Oct 14 - Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik and rookie pacer Shardul Thakur have returned to the Indian One-Day International (ODI) squad for the upcoming home series against New Zealand from October 22.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also made several changes to the squad which took part in the recently concluded home series against Australia.

Opening batsman Lokesh Rahul was left out of the 15-man squad along with pacers Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav.

Thakur made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka on August 31 this year.

Top order batsman Shikhar Dhawan, who missed the ODI series against Australia, also returns to the squad for the 50-over format.

New Zealand are due to tour India for a limited-overs series which will include three ODIs and as many Twenty20 Internationals (T20I).

The first ODI is scheduled to be played in Mumbai on October 22, the second will be in Pune on October 25 while the third match is slated for Kanpur on October 29.

Indian Squad:

Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur.

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IANS