Gurkeerat earns surprise call-up in Dhoni-led squad for SA ODIs

Maiden ODI call-up for Gurkeerat; Aravind in T20 squad for South Africa series

Young Punjab all-rounder Gurkeerat Singh earned a maiden call-up to India's One-Day International squad while Karnataka left-arm seamer Srinath Aravind was a surprise inclusion in the T20 squad for the limited-overs' leg against South Africa next month.

The Sandeep Patil-led selection committee announced teams for the three T20s and the first three One-day Internationals against the Proteas on Sunday.

The tour commences on October 2, with the first T20 in Dharamsala.

Limited-overs' captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was back at the helm while senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was retained in the T20 squad following a consistent showing on the tour of Zimbabwe.

However, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja was again ignored as the selectors decided to persist with young Axar Patel.

Leg-spinner Amit Mishra's good show against Sri Lanka was also rewarded with a place in both squads.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan, recuperating from a hand fracture suffered during the first Test against Sri Lanka last month, was also included in both squads.

After being rested for the Zimbabwe tour, senior players Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin and Suresh Raina were automatic selections in both squads as were the likes of Ambati Rayudu and Mohit Sharma.

While Umesh Yadav was named in the ODI squad, Varun Aaron was not considered for selection in both.

Squads:

T20Is: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain and wicketkeeper), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Stuart Binny, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Amit Mishra, Srinath Aravind.

First three ODIs: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain and wicketkeeper), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav.