India’s squad for the first two ODIs against Windies announced

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the squad for the first two ODIs of the upcoming series against the West Indies. The 5-match ODI series will be played after the conclusion of the 2-match Test series. The squad marks the return of skipper Virat Kohli, who rested himself from the Asia Cup that India won under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma.

The squad would have come across as a huge news for Rishabh Pant, who was not included in the Asia Cup but may now get an opportunity to make his ODI debut. Dinesh Karthik, who was the backup keeper during the Asia Cup and batted at number 4, has been dropped.

As for the bowling department, pace spearheads Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested, while Shardul Thakur and Khaleel Ahmed have made the cut. Mohammed Shami would also be happy as he has been recalled to the squad after last playing an ODI against Australia in 2017.

Hardik Pandya and Kedar Jadhav, who injured themselves during the Asia Cup, have been left out. Ravindra Jadeja, who made an ODI comeback in the Asia Cup and made the most of the opportunity, has been retained for the ODIs against the Windies.

Manish Pandey, despite playing only a single game in the Asia Cup, has been retained. Looks like the selectors want to keep him in the scheme of things for the World Cup 2019.

The ODI series begins on October 21, with the first game at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati. The last of the five ODIs will be played at Thiruvananthapuram on November 1. This will be followed by a three-match T20I series.

Here's the complete squad:

Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (wk), Rishabh Pant, R Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Khaleel Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, KL Rahul