India recall Yuvraj, Nehra for Australia T20s

India's national selectors on Saturday recalled fading stars Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra for Twenty20 internationals against Australia, keeping one eye on the upcoming World T20.

Singh, 34, the star of India's 2011 World Cup campaign, was rewarded for his consistent performances in domestic cricket recently after being out of the national squad since last year.

The 36-year-old Nehra, a left-arm paceman who last turned out for India in the 2011 World Cup, impressed in this year's Indian Premier League T20 tournament.

"We will need experienced players in the T20 World Cup. The Australian tour is a perfect chance to give them a shot," selection committee chairman Sandip Patil said, referring to Singh and Nehra.

India are set to play three T20s and five one-day internationals against Australia from January 12-31. The World Twenty20 -- to be hosted by India -- begins on March 8 with the final slated for April 3 in Kolkata.

The selectors also named a 15-member one-day squad Saturday which will see fast bowlers Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami making a comeback along with left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja.

Shami, 25, underwent surgery after a creditable show at this year's World Cup and missed out on the recent home series against South Africa.

Left-arm seamer Brainder Sran and all-rounder Hardik Pandya were the new faces who were picked in the ODI and T20 squads respectively.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was retained as captain, scotching speculation of an imminent retirement from the shorter formats of the game.

Dhoni had retired from Test cricket last December, handing over the reins to Virat Kohli.

One-day squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh, Rishi Dhawan and Brainder Sran.

Twenty20 squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Harbhajan Singh, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ashish Nehra.
Source: AFP