Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma set to return to action
BCCI announce ODIs and T20Is squads for West Indies series
Veteran stars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are set to return to action after a two-month break after being named in India’s 15-member squad for the three-match ODI series against the West Indies on Wednesday.
Rohit’s return comes after speculation over his future in the format intensified during India’s tour of England in July. The former captain has retained his place in the top order alongside ODI skipper Shubman Gill and Kohli.
Rohit endured a slow start in England, scoring 11 and 26 in the first two ODIs, before producing a stunning 137 in the series decider at Lord’s. His century, however, came in a losing cause as India fell short while chasing 388.
India have handed maiden ODI call-ups to all-rounder Naman Dhir and Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi. Nitish Kumar Reddy has also been included after being withdrawn from India’s Asian Games squad.
Veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja returns to the ODI setup after missing the England series, with Harsh Dubey unavailable because of injury.
Mohammed Siraj also returns, while Gurnoor Brar and Prasidh Krishna have been included in the pace attack.
Varun Chakravarthy ruled out
Meanwhile, Varun Chakravarthy has been ruled out of the Asian Games and the one-off T20I against Japan because of a side strain. Vipraj Nigam has been named as his replacement.
India will have separate squads and coaching arrangements during the West Indies series, with several white-ball players set to travel to Japan for the Asian Games T20I campaign. Head coach Gautam Gambhir will oversee the ODI side, while BCCI Centre of Excellence chief VVS Laxman will travel with the T20I team.
The three ODIs against the West Indies will be played in Thiruvananthapuram on September 27, Guwahati on September 30 and New Chandigarh on October 3.
Rishabh Pant, who was not included in India’s white-ball squads, will lead the Rest of India in the Irani Cup. Hardik Pandya has also been left out of the India squads and is scheduled to return to competitive cricket for Australia A’s tour, subject to fitness clearance.
ODI squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (VC), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Naman Dhir.
T20I squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma (VC), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav.
