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Highlights, India squad for West Indies tour 2019 announcement: MS Dhoni rested for Windies tour; Shikhar Dhawan picked for limited-overs leg

Date: Sunday, 21 July, 2019 14:41 IST

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Highlights, India squad for West Indies tour 2019 announcement: MS Dhoni rested for Windies tour; Shikhar Dhawan picked for limited-overs leg

Highlights

14:37 (IST)

We have had quite a number of surprises with the squads for Windies tour. Virat Kohli has not been given any rest while few pacers have been given some off time. Shikhar Dhawan is back from injury. T20I side bears a new look. Click here to check the complete squads for the upcoming tour. 

14:28 (IST)

Chahars beat Pandyas in the race to India squad! 

14:26 (IST)

"Rishabh Pant has not done anything wrong for his non-inclusion. We know he's the only wicketkeeper to get a 100 in England and then in Australia. Pant will play in all formats, we have to manage his workload," says MSK Prasad

14:24 (IST)

"We need to give opportunities to youngsters who will play for long," says MSK Prasad

14:21 (IST)

"He (MS Dhoni) has expressed his unavailability for the West Indies tour but we have a road map for coming days and future of India cricket," says MSK Prasad. 

14:14 (IST)

India’s squad for 2 Tests: Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, C Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (WK) Wriddhiman Saha (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav

14:14 (IST)

India’s squad for 3 ODIs: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kedar Jadhav, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Navdeep Saini

14:09 (IST)

The T20I squad is out. No rest for Virat Kohli.

13:58 (IST)

We are minutes away from the squad announcement!

13:57 (IST)

Need to build solid T20I side

India are ranked fifth on ICC's list of best T20I teams but with two T20I World Cups coming up in next two years, India must begin the building process with the West Indies. The focus for selectors should be to construct a specialised T20 unit which could take India to the top of the format.

13:45 (IST)

Team India's middle-order in focus

The loss to New Zealand in World Cup 2019 semi-finals exposed, yet again, the middle-order issue of Team India. A lot of experimentation took place before the World Cup but didn't yield the desired result. But it's time for national selectors to make a fresh start and infuse new players into the side to solve the conundrum. Manish Pandey, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, who are currently playing for India A in West Indies, are expected to be the top contenders for the slot. 

13:33 (IST)

Senior India cricketer found guilty of violating BCCI's 'family clause' during World Cup 2019

Time for some off the field news, a senior member of the Indian cricket team has come under the scanner for violating BCCI's 'family clause' rules during the World Cup, where the team made a semifinal exit. The player in question had specifically requested for his wife to stay with him for more than the permissible period of 15 days but it was shot down by the Committee of Administrators (CoA), which had laid down the rules. Now it has come to light that the player's wife stayed with him for the entire seven-week duration of the tournament without seeking permission from either the captain or the coach for her extended stay.

13:21 (IST)

Yet, despite indications that MS Dhoni would remain integral to the side, the selectors and the think-tank needs to groom someone for the pivotal job of the wicket-keeping all-rounder in the Indian team. G Rajaraman writes on how selectors must look to groom Dhoni's successor regardless of his availability of unavailability. 

13:09 (IST)

MS Dhoni to miss West Indies tour

Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni made himself 'unavailable' for the tour of West Indies but ruled out immediate retirement a day before the selectors meet in Mumbai to pick the squads for the upcoming away series. Amid mounting speculation around his international retirement after India's semi-final exit from the recent World Cup, Dhoni has told the BCCI that he will take a two-month sabbatical from the game to serve his paramilitary regiment, said BCCI sources.

13:05 (IST)

The selection meet is already underway in Mumbai. The announcement is expected at 2 PM. 

13:00 (IST)

Hello and welcome to Firstpost's LIVE blog as the India's senior team selectors meet to announce the squad for the West Indies tour starting from 3 August

 

Preview: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday announced that the selection meeting for India's tour of West Indies will be held on 21 July.

Earlier, it was speculated that the Indian squad will be announced on Friday but now BCCI stated that the team for the upcoming tour of West Indies will be announced on Sunday.

Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday made himself "unavailable" for the tour of West Indies but ruled out immediate retirement a day before the selectors meet in Mumbai to pick the squads for the upcoming away series.

Amid mounting speculation around his international retirement after India's semi-final exit from the recent World Cup, Dhoni has told the BCCI that he will take a two-month sabbatical from the game to serve his paramilitary regiment.

Dhoni is an Honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment of the Territorial Army.

"We would like to clarify three things. MS Dhoni is not retiring from cricket right now. He is taking a two month sabbatical to serve his paramilitary regiment which he had committed much earlier. We have now intimated his decision to skipper Virat Kohli and chairman of selectors MSK Prasad," a senior BCCI official told PTI on Saturday.

Rishabh Pant, who was recently called up as replacement for an injured opener Shikhar Dhawan in the World Cup, is likely to keep wickets while Wriddhiman Saha could be the second keeper for the longer format.

Another issue that would surely be debated is the availability of Kohli, who has been on the road for a while.

There is a school of thought that the skipper could be rested considering the long domestic season ahead, which begins in September, and in this scenario Rohit Sharma could be handed captaincy for the shorter formats.

However, with the two Tests being part of the ICC Test Championship, Kohli could be included in the Test squad. A similar approach could be taken for pacer Jasprit Bumrah.

The MSK Prasad-led panel would also work on restructuring the middle-order as it was one of the primary reasons for India's exit from the World Cup semi-final. Stabilising the number four spot is the need of the hour going ahead.

It is expected that picking the middle-order could lead to the biggest debate as the panel has a few choices among Karnataka's Mayank Agarwal and Manish Pandey and Mumbai's Shreyas Iyer, who has been knocking the doors after scoring heavily in domestic cricket.

Pandey scored a match-winning 100 for India A against the West Indies A in an unofficial third ODI and after Ambati Rayudu's sudden retirement and Vijay Shankar's failure to nail the number four spot, the focus will be on the trio.

Also, the selectors may consider the talented young Punjab batsman Shubhman Gill and Mumbai's Prithvi Shaw. But Shaw's hip injury could come in the way of him being considered.

A determined Gill has been among the runs in the West Indies tour for India A. Gill and Shreyas could make the cut.

It could also be end of the road for the experienced Dinesh Karthik and Maharashtra all-rounder Kedar Jadhav, who failed to perform in the World Cup.

If Dhawan, who was ruled out of the World Cup owing to a thumb fracture, is deemed fit, he would, in all probability, open with Rohit.

Other regulars, including KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, could retain their places in the limited-overs squads.

Teenage leg-spinner Rahul Chahar could be among the rookies who are at least discussed given the good run he is having with the A team in the West Indies right now. The 19-year-old is a cousin of Deepak Chahar, a fairly established first-class name who has played an ODI and a T20 for India.

Among the new faces, Delhi speedster Navdeep Saini could make the team as he has impressed in the ongoing India A tour of West Indies and even picked a fifer.

The selectors could also look at the likes of Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar, and Avesh Khan apart from regular pacers Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who could be retained.

Khaleel being a left-arm pacer adds variety to the attack.

India will play three T20Is and three ODIs in Caribbean nations starting from 3 August, followed by two-match Test series which will begin on 22 August.

With inputs from Agencies

Updated Date: Jul 21, 2019

Tags : #ICC Test Championship #IND vs WI #ind vs wi Test series #india playing xi Test match #india squad for west indies tour 2019 #India tour of West Indies #India vs West Indies #india vs west indies t20 match #Jasprit Bumrah #Kedar Jadhav #KL Rahul #Mayank Agarwal #MSK Prasad #Navdeep Saini #Prithvi Shaw #Rahul Chahar #Rishabh Pant #Rohit Sharma #Shikhar Dhawan #Shreyas Iyer #Shubman Gill #Team India's Test Squad For Windies Tour #Virat Kohli #West Indies vs India 2019

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