Veteran batsman Suresh Raina has been selected in India’s T20 International squad, which will play three-match series against South Africa in February. Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur is also invited to the team while batsman Shreyas Iyer has been dropped.

Raina hasn’t played an international match for one year and was dropped for not passing all-important Yo-Yo Test. However, he has passed this fitness Test in January this year and was expected to come back in the team.

Meanwhile, his great form with the bat has also helped his cause to make a way for him. In recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Raina scored an unbeaten century before scoring back to back half-centuries.

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Opener Shikhar Dhawan also returns to the 16-man squad after being rested for Sri Lanka series in December last year. Washington Sundar, Deepak Hooda, Basil Thampi and Mohammad Siraj are dropped from the squad which played last T20I series.

Virat Kohli, too, returns to the squad as skipper after being rested for the same series. The T20I series will be played from February 18-24 across Johannesburg, Centurion and Cape Town.

India’s squad for T20I series: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Manish Pandey, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur.