Rohit Sharma returns as India pull selection surprise for Sri Lanka matches

Mumbai: Veteran skipper Rohit Sharma has been named to make his eagerly awaited return from injury during next month's ODI series against Sri Lanka.

Rohit has been battling a thumb injury in recent times and sat out India's recent two-match Test series in Bangladesh ahead of a hectic upcoming schedule.

India host Sri Lanka for six white-ball contests (three T20Is and three ODIs) at the beginning of next month, with Rohit named to lead a new-look side ahead of next year's ICC Cricket World Cup on home soil.

With Rohit's return to cricket confirmed, it means fellow veteran Shikhar Dhawan drops out of the squad altogether after managing just 18 runs from three hits while filling in as captain during the recent ODI series in Bangladesh.

Left-hander Rishabh Pant is another big name to miss out on both squads, with the BCCI failing to divulge whether the pair had been dropped due to form, injury or just rested.

While Rohit will feature in the ODI component of the tour, experienced all-rounder Hardik Pandya will take the captaincy reins for the three T20I matches with star batsman Suryakumar Yadav promoted to take the role as vice-captain.

Regulars Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Rohit will all sit out the T20Is, with the likes of Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill expected to be given more chances at the top of India's batting order.

Veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is not considered for either squad as he continues his recovery from a knee injury, while there are maiden T20I call-ups for Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar.

India T20I squad: Hardik Pandya (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (vc), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar.

India ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.

Tour schedule:

First T20I: January 3, Mumbai

Second T20I: January 5, Pune

Third T20I: January 7, Rajkot

First ODI: January 10, Guwahati

Second ODI: January 12, Kolkata

Third ODI: January 15, Thiruvananthapuram. (UNI)