BCCI names India men’s ODI squad for West Indies tour; Shikhar Dhawan to lead

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Wednesday, announced the 16-member men’s squad for the upcoming tour of the West Indies.

Senior opening batter Shikhar Dhawan has been appointed to lead the ‘Men in Blue’ in the three-match ODI series, starting July 22 in Trinidad. Star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja ꦍhas been named as the vice-captain for this tour.

Dhawan will lead Team India because regular skipper Rohit Sharma and other stars such as Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Shami have all been rested for the three-match leg. On the other hand, KL Rahul, who recent꧃ly underwent surgery i🌊n Germany, was not considered for selection.

Notably, Dhawan led India thrice in ODIs last year on the tour of Sri Lanka when other senior players were involved in the Test tour of England. Aspiring opener Shubman Gill has made his ODI comeback after the tour of Australia in December 2020. Similarly, Sanju Samson is also back after a year, having played his lone ODI so far in Sri Lanka last July. Samson, along with Ishan Kishan, are the two wicketkeepers in the squad.

Further, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who was included in a full-strength squad for the England ODIs later this month, has retained his place alongside Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur.

India ODI squad for West Indies tour:

Shikhar Dhawan (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Raꦿvindra Jadeja (VC), Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh⭕ Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh