Dhoni to lead Twenty20 side

Mahendra Dhoni has been named captain of India’s Twenty20 World Cup side, with Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag also included.

Dhoni will skipper in the absence of Rahul Dravid, who along with fellow senior players Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly who have opted out of playing the game’s shortest form.

Despite being prominent members of the Indian line up for several years, Singh and Sehwag have been left out in recent months. However, the selectors have given themselves a chance to show what they can do on the world stage, as well as in a format which may well suit their style of play. Also recalled is Irfan Pathan, who is another player who could be suited to Twenty20.

There are also several less experienced players who will go to South Africa, including Pathan’s older brother Yusuf, an off-spinning all rounder. Leg spinner Piyush Chawla and batsman Rohit Sharma also find a place.

Along with their Twenty20 squad, India announced their squad for the 7-match ODI series against England. This differs little from the team that first arrived for the matches in Ireland, and includes Munaf Patel, who was forced to sit out the Test series.

Twenty20 World Cup Squad
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c) (wk), Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Dinesh Karthik, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Joginder Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh, Rohit Sharma

ODI Squad
Rahul Dravid (c), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Ramesh Powar, Dinesh Karthik, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Munaf Patel, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Gautam Gambhir, Ajit Agarkar