Ravichandran Ashwin, KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav have been recalled while Jasionary Bumrah, Virat Kohli and Yuzvendra Chahal have been rested for India’s five-match T20I series against West Indies, which will be played in July-August.
Ashwin, the best player, last appeared in T20I last November and is likely to be tested in the Powerplays with the attention of the T20 World Cup, which will be played in Australia from October. Rahul and Kuldeep will have to complete a fitness test, after recovering from injuries and illnesses over the past few months, before appearing in the series.
Captain Rohit Sharma, basketball hitter Rishabh Pant and key smasher Bhuvneshwar Kumar – who have been rested for three ODIs in the West Indies starting July 22 – will return alongside T20I. However, those who opted to consult with team management chose to leave Kohli, Bumrah and Chahal rest for the T20Is.
While BCCI’s communication on Thursday offered no explanation for the trio’s omission, The Hindu understands that the decision to give them a break was to try different combinations in the match leading up to T20. World Cup.
Bumrah and Chahal were guaranteed a spot in the T20 World Cup group as the pacemaker and first spinner respectively, while the pickers were confident that Kohli would regain lost form during the break.
Given the lack of experience in Australia among India’s T20 professional hitters, pickers and team management are willing to give Kohli a longer rope to get back into scoring run mode. It would therefore be surprising if Kohli is not called up to the squad for the Asian Cup, which is set to begin in Sri Lanka at the end of August.
However, if Rahul passes the fitness test and scores big against the West Indies T20 powerhouse, the selectors could be troubled by Kohli’s fate for the T20 World Cup.
Likewise, if Kuldeep, after recovering from a finger injury, returns with his high strike that was shown in the Indian Premier League, India’s spin combination for the T20 World Cup as well. would be an interesting topic.
Pace-bowling bowler Deepak Chahar was not selected as he is yet to recover from the hamstring and back injury he sustained against the IPL.
SQUAD
Rohit Sharma (C), Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul *, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav *, Bhueshwar Kum Khan, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
SCHEDULE
| Sr no. | Day and Date | Competition | Location |
| first | July 22, Friday | First ODI | Port of Spain |
| 2 | July 24, Sunday | 2nd ODI | Port of Spain |
| 3 | July 27, wednesday | 3rd ODI | Port of Spain |
| 4 | July 29, Friday | First T20I | Tarouba |
| 5 | August 1, Monday | 2nd T20I | Basseterre, St Kitts |
| 6 | August 2, Tuesday | 3rd T20I | Basseterre, St Kitts |
| 7 | August 6, Saturday | 4th T20I | Lauderhill, Florida |
| 8 | August 7, Sunday | 5th T20I | Lauderhill, Florida |
