Mohammad Shami is all set to make his much-awaited India comeback as the senior pacer has been named in the T20I squad for the upcoming home series against England, starting January 22 in Kolkata.

Shami has not played for India since his appearance in the 2023 World Cup final. He underwent an operation on his Achilles tendon in February last year, and made his return to competitive action through the first phase of Ranji Trophy and the subsequent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Bengal.

Shami recently plied his trade in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (domestic 50-over tournament). However, he missed out on the tour of Australia due to swelling in his knee.

A BCCI release on December 23 had stated: “Based on the current medical assessment, the BCCI medical team has determined that his knee requires more time for controlled exposure to bowling loads. Consequently, he has not been deemed fit for consideration for the remaining two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.”

The selectors ignored Rishabh Pant and picked Dhruv Jurel as the second wicketkeeper in the squad with the in-form Sanju Samson being the first-choice. Jurel comes in place for Jitesh Sharma, who was part of the squad during the tour of South Africa in November.

All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who impressed one and all during the tour Down Under, also featured in the squad in place of Ramandeep Singh. Another all-rounder Shivam Dube has been sidelined from the squad while Abhishek Sharma retains his place at the top of the order.

Middle-order batter Riyan Parag, who is a also a handy spin bowler, doesn’t feature in squad owing to injury. Axar Patel has been named as the vice-captain.

India’s T20 squad for England series: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel (vc), Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy and Washington Sundar.