Shikhar Dhawan was named the captain as BCCI announced Indian team for the West Indies ODI series as skipper Rohit Sharma was rested alongside Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant. Jasprit Bumrah, who recently led in the Edgbaston test was also rested for the series as Arshdeep Singh got his maiden call-up. Madhya Pradesh lad Avesh Khan was called to the squad alongside Pradish Krishna and Mohammed Siraj.
Ravindra Jadeja was named as the vice skipper of the team and will don the all-rounder duties alongside Shardul Thakur. Ruturaj Gaikwad has been of colour in the recent while but he was given a chance in the team and he will be the top order option for India alongside skipper Dhawan. Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson are other three options for the top order slot but can be utilized in the middle order as well to strengthen the bench of Indian team which has been inconsistent in the recent while.
SuryaKumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Hooda are the three specialists in the middle order. Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel are the two lone spinners in the team.
Indian team– Shikhar Dhawan (C), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohd Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
India’s tour of the West Indies and USA begins with the three match ODI series in Trinidad starting July 22. They will subsequently play five T20Is against the Caribbean side, in Trinidad, St Kitts and Lauderhill (Florida) with the tour finishing with the two T20Is in the USA on August 6 and 7. This can prove to be a decisive series before the 2022 T20 world cup scheduled in Australia. It will be interesting to see if the rookies can impress to put pressure on selectors to sideline the big guns.
