Mumbai: The National Selection Committee led by chief selector MSK Prasad on Sunday said Virat Kohli will be the captain for Team India in all three formats during the West Indies Tour while former captain M S Dhoni will not be part of the team and all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been rested.
India will play three T20 internationals two matches will take place in Florida and one in Guyana. The visitors will also play three ODIs and two Tests.
Ajinkya Rahane will be the vice-captain for two Tests while Rohit Sharma will take charge as vice-captain for 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is.
Dhoni has taken two-month break and will be unavailable for this series to join Parachute Regiment of Territorial Army.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya, who had groin injury during the World Cup, has been rested, while Vijay Shankar is not part of the limited-overs squad as he hasn’t fully recovered from the toe injury sustained during the marquee event.
The Selection Committee have gone with Rishabh Pant as single wicketkeeping option for the limited overs while in Tests both Rishabh Pant and Wriddhiman Saha have been brought in as wicketkeepers.
“We have taken India A performances into consideration. In the longer format, KS Bharat was very, very close to get selected. We have an unwritten norm when a senior cricketer is injured, he should get a comeback opportunity. That’s what we have given to Saha,” MSK Prasad said.
Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the T20Is and the ODIs, before he returns for the Tests, while Test opener Murali Vijay, who failed to perform in Australia earlier this year, is not part of the squad. Also missing from the Test squad is Prithvi Shaw, who hasn’t recovered from the hip injury he suffered last May during the T20 Mumbai League.
With Shikhar Dhawan back in the limited overs will also have the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey, who previously auditioned for the no 4 spot. Prasad referred to India A form while explaining a few selections, with Iyer and Pandey impressing in the unofficial ODIs against West Indies this month.
Uncapped quick Navdeep Saini, who began the India A tour of West indies with a five-fer, has been picked, as has left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed. Mayank Agarwal, who was roped in as Vijay Shankar’s replacement at the World Cup but didn’t get any game time, has not been considered.
Dinesh Karthik, Siddarth Kaul, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav and Bumrah have been dropped, with the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar, Bhuveshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar and Saini being are in the T20 squad.
Squad:
India’s squad for 3 ODIs: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kedar Jadhav, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Navdeep Saini
India’s squad for 3 T20Is: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini
India’s squad for 2 Tests: Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, C Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (WK) Wriddhiman Saha (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav (UNI)
