Bumrah, Shami rested, KL Rahul to join from 2nd ODI, Jadeja yet to gain full fitness
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced the ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming series in the respective formats against the West Indies to be played at home.
India are set to take on West Indies in a three-match ODI and T20 series. The matches will be played behind closed doors due to rising COVID cases in the country. The tour will start with three ODI games at Narendra Modi stadium, Ahmedabad, and will be followed by a three-match T20I series at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Maiden National Call-ups for leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, all-rounder Deepak Hooda and pacer Avesh Khan
Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi has earned a maiden call-up to the national team and will feature in both the ODI and T20I squads. Bishnoi has been nothing but impressive since his debut in the ICC Under-19 World Cup held in South Africa a couple of years ago. The 21-year-old already has been grabbing eyeballs since his performance in his two Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons with Punjab Kings. Bishnoi was also picked by the Lucknow Super Giants ahead of the 2022 IPL auction a few days back. The leg-break bowler will add to the firepower in India’s spin arsenal along with leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and off-spinner Washington Sundar who have retained their places.
Madhya Pradesh firebrand pacer, Avesh Khan has also been rewarded with a place in the ODI and T20I squads for his exploits with Delhi Capitals in the IPL. Avesh was part of Delhi’s lethal pace trio along with Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje. Avesh bagged 24 wickets at a healthy average of 18.75 in IPL 2021 and displayed skills to bowl with the new ball and at the death end alike.
A surprise inclusion has been that of Kuldeep Yadav and Deepak Hooda for the ODIs. Kuldeep was out of the playing XI for some time now but the management has decided to persist with him in the ODI setup. Deepak Hooda has been handed a call-up as well to bolster India’s all-round strength which reads quite thin at the moment.
Notable Exclusions: Bhuvi out of ODI squad; Bumrah, Shami rested
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been left out of the ODI squad and that wasn’t unexpected as he lost his spot ahead of the third game against South Africa recently. Bhuvi returned wicketless and failed to stem the flow of runs as well in the opportunities he got in South Africa. The medium-pacer, however, has found a spot in the T20I squad. Venkatesh Iyer has also been axed from the ODI squad as he failed to impress with bat or ball. Iyer, however, has been given another go in the T20I leg like Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami have been rested for the series. Hardik Pandya is still unavailable for selection. Ravindra Jadeja is in the ‘final stage’ of his ‘recovery post his knee surgery as reported in the press release issued by BCCI. KL Rahul will be available from the second ODI onwards and Axar Patel for the T20I leg, the same release read. Despite moderate returns in South Africa, Shreyas Iyer retains his place. The move signals that the management is displaying patience with the right-handed batter.
ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan
T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel
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