Riyan Parag to get maiden call-up for Australia T20Is?

AHMEDABAD: Riyan Parag, who has been on-fire in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, having slammed a record seven fifties on the trot for Assam, is in line to receive his maiden India call-up, for the T20I series against Australia, TOI has learnt. The five-match series will kick off just after the World Cup from November 23.
With 510 runs in 10 matches at an average of 85.00 and an incredible strike rate of 182.79, Parag is so far the top run-getter in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy in this edition, and was the stellar performer in Assam's amazing march to the semifinals of the tournament.To add to his worth, Parag, who plays for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, has picked 11 wickets @24.54, at an economy rate of 7.29, with best figures of three for nine with his part-time off-spin. Parag was also the highest run-getter in the Deodhar Trophy this season, scoring 354 runs in five games@88.50 (strike rate of 136.67), with two hundreds and one fifty, besides taking 11 wickets@19.09 for East Zone.
"Parag has been performing consistently in domestic cricket this season. It's hard to ignore his all-round performances. To add to his worth, he's also an excellent fielder," a source said. The selectors are set to rest most of the India players currently playing in the World Cup for this series, which means that a majority of the team will include players who won the gold medal for India in the Asian Games in early October in China.
In such a scenario, a key senior player who could make his international comeback for this series is veteran seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has picked 11 wickets@9.31 and economy rate of 5.84, including a best haul of five for 16 against Karnataka in the SMAT for Uttar Pradesh. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has played over 20 Tests, over 100 ODIs and over 50 T20Is for India. He has taken22 Test wickets, 249 ODI wickets and 52 T20I wickets in his career.
"The selectors are likely to rest all the senior bowlers. In such a scenario, we need an experienced seamer like Bhuvneshwar to lead the attack. He may be recalled," a source said.