Rohit Sharma returns as skipper as BCCI announce squad for Windies series

After an injury lay-off that saw Rohit Sharma missing the New Zealand Tests and the entire South Africa series, the newly-appointed limited-overs skipper has made a comeback for the Windies series as the All-India Senior Selection Committee picked an 18-member squad. 

While young spinner Bishnoi was rewarded with a maiden India call-up for the upcoming series against the West Indies, Kuldeep Yadav also returned to the white-ball setup after a knee surgery. KL Rahul will miss the first ODI in Ahmedabad but will be available from the second ODI, to be played on February 9 at the same venue. Washington Sundar has also returned to the squad following his recover from Covid-19.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been retained in the T20I squad and dropped for the ODIs while former skipper Virat Kohli will feature in both squads. Kuldeep underwent knee surgery in September last year but his form has been a real cause of concern in the last three years, with the Uttar Pradesh spinner even falling from the grace as far as his IPL team is concerned. His position in the KKR set-up had been on and off, which he openly lambasted, and now, he has been released by the franchise ahead of the 2022 mega auction. 

On the other hand, Bishnoi has been terrific in the IPL and has made rapid strides in the IPL, by taking 24 wickets at an average of 25.25 and with an impressive economy rate of 6.97. But there is no news on the inclusion of M Shahrukh Khan even though the Tamil Nadu batter is in the form of his life.

The board has also announced that Ravindra Jadeja is undergoing his final stage of recovery post his knee injury and will not be available for the ODIs and T20I. While Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami have been rested from the series, there is no mention of R Ashwin, who isn't a part of any of the squads. Harshal Patel has been named in the T20Is while Avesh Khan has found himself in both squads.

Deepak Hooda has been selected for the ODIs but a real miss has been Rishi Dhawan, whose all-round performance helped Himachal Pradesh win their first-ever domestic tournament this year when they beat Tamil Nadu in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final. 

Team India are set to play three ODIs at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad from 6th February followed by the T20I series at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata from 16th February.

ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan

T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel.