India’s spin bowling duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, who had played a part in many a win between 2017 and the 2019 ICC World Cup, will be reunited in the limited-overs series against West Indies at home next month.
The Indian squad bears a full-strength look with skipper Virat Kohli back at the helm and his deputy Rohit Sharma also not opting for a break. Pacers Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are also getting a nod. Both bowlers have had a long break from Twenty20 Internationals. All-rounder Hardik Pandya and pace ace Jasprit Bumrah continue to recover from injuries as Shivam Dube and Deepak Chahar get an extended run in national colours.
All-rounder Shivam Dube was rewarded with a maiden call-up in the 50-over format.
India is scheduled to play three Twenty 20 Internationals against the West Indies with the series-opener in Mumbai on December 6 followed by matches in Thiruvananthapuram (December 8) and Hyderabad (December 11).
The three ODIs will be played in Chennai (December 15), Visakhapatnam (December 18) and Cuttack (December 22).
A side strain and a hamstring injury forced seamer Bhuvneshwar to come back midway from the tour of West Indies in August. Kohli coming back meant that Sanju Samson, who was included in the last series as specialist batsman had to go out without getting a match.
Senior opener Shikhar Dhawan, despite his poor run of form, gets another go at the top.
Another veteran Kedar Jadhav has also managed to hold on to his ODI place despite the presence of Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey in both squads.
Seamer Deepak Chahar, who recently had a brilliant T20I series against Bangladesh was recalled in the ODI squad after he played in last year’s Asia Cup in the UAE.
His younger cousin brother Rahul was, however, dropped from the squad with the seasoned Kuldeep back in the mix with his partner in crime, Yuzvendra Chahal, who made his shortest format comeback in the last series.
Krunal Pandya, who had been a regular feature in the T20 setup for a year has been dropped, with Ravindra Jadeja back after a break.
The pace bowling departments in both squads bear a familiar look with Bhuvneshwar and Shami leading the way. It is expected that Jasprit Bumrah will join the duo soon and, along with Deepak, could be the main four pacers in white ball format.
There is still no sign of former India captain MS Dhoni, who hasn’t played an international game since India’s semi-final exit against New Zealand. Spinner Washington Sundar gets another chance in the T20I squad to cement his place in the side but Sanju Samson, who was picked against Bangladesh, misses out. Rishabh Pant is the only keeper against West Indies in the Virat-Kohli led side. India play three T20Is and as many ODIs against the Windies starting on December 6.
India’s squad for 3 ODIs: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
India’s squad for 3 T20Is: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar