The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for the T20I series against West Indies. As was expected, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah were rested from the series while KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav marked their return. Rahul and Kuldeep’s return, however, is conditional as they have to prove their fitness before being eligible for selection.
A total of 5 spinners were picked for the 5-match T20I series, however, there was no mention of Yuzvendra Chahal in that list. Chahal has arguably been India’s No. 1 spinner in T20Is since making a return to the team after being snubbed for a spot in the T20 World Cup 2021 squad. It is likely that he too has been rested for the West Indies series like Kohli and Bumrah.
A big miss from the list was Umran Malik. The express pacer earned his maiden India call-up for home series against South Africa last month and then was also included in the T20I series against Ireland and England. He failed to impress the selectors, and hence, couldn’t find a spot in the team for the West Indies assignment.
Another name missing from the list is that of all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer. He has found breaking into the Indian team tough since the return of Hardik Pandya. With Ravindra Jadeja also taking up the all-rounder’s spot, Venkatesh’s case remains a tough one, especially keeping the forthcoming T20 World Cup in Australia in mind.
The return of Ravichandran Ashwin is also a big talking point from the squad announcement. The off-spinner had last featured for India in a T20I against New Zealand in November 2021. With there being only a few months to go before the T20 World Cup 2022 begins, Ashwin has earned another chance to prove his mettle and stake a claim for the showpiece event.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (C), I Kishan, KL Rahul*, Suryakumar Yadav, D Hooda, S Iyer, D Karthik, R Pant, H Pandya, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, R Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav*, B Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
*Inclusion of KL Rahul & Kuldeep Yadav is subject to fitness.
