Rohit Sharma takes over from Virat Kohli as India T20 captain for New Zealand series

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Venkatesh Iyer rewarded for impressive performances in IPL 2021

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  India's captain Virat Kohli hugs Namibia's David Wiese as he leads team members out into the field after winning the Cricket Twenty20 World Cup match between India and Namibia in Dubai, UAE, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (AP Photo / Aijaz Rahi)

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  India batsmen Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul, second right, greet Namibia players after the match in Dubai. AP

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  Virat Kohli shakes hands with Suryakumar Yadav after the match. Reuters

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  Virat Kohli shakes hands with Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus after India's victory. AFP

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  Suryakumar Yadav bats during the T20 World Cup match between India and Namibia. AP

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  KL Rahul raises his bat after scoring a half-century against Namibia. AFP

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  KL Rahul plays a shot during India's T20 World Cup match against Namibia. Getty Images

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  KL Rahul plays a shot against Namibia in Dubai. Reuters

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  Suryakumar Yadav plays a shot next to Namibia wicketkeeper Zane Green. AFP

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  KL Rahul plays a shot against Namibia. Getty Images

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  Namibia's Michael Van Lingen watches the ball run down the field. AP

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  Namibia bowler Jan Frylinck celebrates the wicket of Rohit Sharma. Getty

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  India fans cheers on their team from the stands. Reuters

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  India fans cheer on the team and wave giant flags in the stands. Getty Images

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  India's Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul run between the wickets. AFP

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  Namibia's David Wiese bats against India. AFP

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  India's Jasprit Bumrah in the field during the Namibia innings. Getty Images

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  Namibia's Jan Frylinck avoids a bouncer against India. AFP

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  India's players celebrate after the dismissal of Namibia's Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton. AFP

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  Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja celebrate after the dismissal of Namibia's Stephan Baard. AFP

Rohit Sharma was named the new captain of India's T20 side, replacing Virat Kohli, the cricket board announced on Tuesday after the side crashed out of the World Cup.

Rohit, 34, was named the T20 captain as the Indian board announced the squad for the upcoming tour by New Zealand.

Kohli, who took over T20I captaincy in 2017, had announced his decision to step down in September, citing his "immense workload". He remains the skipper of the one-day and Test teams.

The announcement follows news that former batting legend Rahul Dravid was replacing Ravi Shastri as coach for all formats following the World Cup, where India failed to qualify for the semi-finals.

Rohit has tasted immense success as a white-ball captain, leading Mumbai Indian to five IPL titles and also guiding India to wins in the 2018 Asia Cup and Nidahas trophy - both multi-team tournaments - as stand-in leader.

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  India players celebrate their 66-run win over Afghanistan in Group 2 of the T20 World Cup on November 3, 2021 at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Getty Images

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  Naveen-ul-Haq of Afghanistan unsuccessfully appeals for the LBW of Rohit Sharma of India. Getty Images

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  Rohit Sharma of India plays a shot on his way to a 47-ball 79. Getty Images

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  Afghanistan's Gulbadin Naib celebrates the dismissal of India's Rohit Sharma. AP Photo

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  Afghanistan's Rashid Khan, right, talks to captain Mohammad Nabi after he was hit for a six by India's Rohit Sharma. AP Photo

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  KL Rahul of India plays a shot as Mohammad Shahzad of Afghanistan looks on. Getty Images

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  Fans of Afghanistan. Getty Images

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  India's Virat Kohli with KL Rahul. Reuters

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  India's KL Rahul is bowled by Afghanistan's Gulbadin Naib. Reuters

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  Afghan and India fans in the stands. Getty Images

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  General view of play at Zayed Cricket Stadium. Getty Images

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  Sharafuddin Ashraf and Karim Janat of Afghanistan interact. Getty Images

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  General view of play. Getty Images

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  Fans of Afghanistan cheer their team. Getty Images

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  Gulbadin Naib of Afghanistan plays a shot as Rishabh Pant of India looks on. Getty Images

Kohli was not named in the T20 squad for the New Zealand series to give the batsman time to rest. Also left out were pace bowlers Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah as well as bowling all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

The tour by New Zealand begins on November 17 with three T20 games followed by two Test matches.

India faced sharp criticism at home over their dismal performance in the T20 World Cup, including their humiliating defeat at the hands of arch-rival Pakistan as well as New Zealand.

But Shastri, after his last game in charge after five years, said that the current team was "one of the great cricket teams in the history of the game".

"We might not have won this World Cup, but I think going forward we'll continue to have a strong team because the IPL throws a lot of young players into the mix. Rahul [Dravid] will have his own ideas on how to take this team forward," Shastri said.

Meanwhile, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel, and Avesh Khan - all of whom had an impressive IPL 2021 - were named in the T20 squad.

The three T20s will be played in Jaipur (November 17), Ranchi (November 19) and Kolkata (November 21). It will be followed by two Tests - Kanpur (November 25-29) and Mumbai (December 3-7).

India T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj