The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 15-member squad for the tour of West Indies. While the selectors have retained 13 of the members from the Champions Trophy, only Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah are the two players who have been rested for the Carribean tour.
Delhi wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has been called into the ODI side for the first time. Kuldeep Yadav, who recently made his Test debut against Australia at Dharamsala has been called the ODI team for the second time. His maiden ODI call-up came in the year 2014 when West Indies toured India for five-match ODI series, which was abandoned after just three games.
Rishabh’s inclusion in the side is not surprising as he was on the fringe of selection right from the start of Ranji Trophy 2016/17. The 19-year-old wicket-keeper batsman plundered 972 runs at an average of 81.00, which included a triple century against Maharashtra and fastest ever century in the history of Ranji Trophy against Jharkhand as well. Though his form dipped down in the Vijay Hazare Trophy when handed the captaincy but he shone for Delhi Daredevils in IPL, to strengthen his case.
Talking of Kuldeep Yadav, the mystery spinner has pipped Amit Mishra to get a place in the side. Mishra was the Man of the Series when last time he was the part of playing XI. An injury just before Bangladesh Test saw him losing his place to Kuldeep Yadav first in Test side and now in ODI as well.
Indian selectors have again opted for a safe approach for West Indies tour and did not tinker much with the side, which meant that there was no place for players who have done well in IPL. Virat Kohli will lead the side for the second time in West Indies, with the last one coming in the previous year when India travelled there for four Test match series. It is to be noted that India has a total of three wicket-keeping batsman option in form of MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant. It will not be easy for Pant to get a place in the side for ODIs.
Suresh Raina is one of the noticeable exclusion from the side, which is surely a troublesome thing for the stylish batsman.
India Squad for tour of West Indies – Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Ajinkya Rahane, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and Dinesh Karthik.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-pKbZpcvkY
Fixtures-
| Date | Match | Venue |
| 23 June | First ODI | Queens’s Park Oval |
| 25 June | Second ODI | Queens’s Park Oval |
| 30 June | Third ODI | SVRS |
| 2 July | Fourth ODI | SVRS |
| 6 July | Fifth ODI | Sabina Park |
| 9 July | First T20I | Sabina Park |