Krunal Pandya to captain India in Hong Kong Sixes

India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) all-rounder Krunal Pandya is all set to lead the Indian team in the upcoming edition of the Hong Kong Sixes after Bhuvneshwar Kumar earned a national call-up.

The right-arm seamer made his comeback to the national side after 2022, having been named in the T20I squad for the upcoming New Zealand tour. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has also been added as injury cover to Arshdeep Singh for the fifth and final T20I of the ongoing series against West Indies. 

As a result, he had to leave the Hong Kong Super Sixes squad, and Krunal Pandya has been given captaincy duties of the team. Krunal has been enjoying a golden period in his career, having played a key role in RCB’s back-to-back IPL triumphs. The spin all-rounder has been a vital cog in the team’s success, having scalped 31 wickets and scored 335 runs over the last two seasons.

Kulwant Khejroliya also added to Indian team

Meanwhile, in Bhuvneshwar’s place, Kulwant Khejroliya has been added to the Indian squad.  The left-arm pacer from Rajasthan has scalped 27 wickets in his T20 career from as many matches at an average of 27.37 with best figures of 4/26.

He has also played nine matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Gujarat Titans (GT) and has taken six wickets.

India squad for Hong Kong Sixes

Krunal Pandya, Kulwant Khejroliya, Shashank Singh, Nitish Rana, T Natarajan, Rahul Tewatia, Rahul Tripathi.