Cricket

India tour of West Indies 2019: 'Only one Pandya', Twitter reacts as BCCI announces India squad for Caribbean tour

Rahul and Deepak Chahar have been rewarded for their performances in the domestic circuit and included in the India T20I squad for their tour of West Indies

FirstCricket Staff
July 21st, 2019
16:22:22 IST

India tour of West Indies 2019: 'Only one Pandya', Twitter reacts as BCCI announces India squad for Caribbean tour

Senior opener Shikhar Dhawan made a comeback to India's limited-overs squad after recovering from a thumb fracture while rookie leg-spinner Rahul Chahar is the only new face across three formats for the upcoming tour of the West Indies, announced here Sunday.

Skipper Virat Kohli will lead India in all three formats while MS Dhoni has taken a break for two months to serve his paramilitary regiment in the Indian army.

Another notable inclusion was veteran keeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha, who is back in the Test squad after undergoing shoulder surgery to recover from an injury sustained during the 2018 IPL.

Saha last played a Test match in South Africa back in January 2018. Rajasthan leg-spinner Rahul Chahar has been rewarded for his consistent show in the IPL and domestic cricket with a berth in the T20 squad. He is the younger cousin of seamer Deepak, who is also in the T20 squad.

From the World Cup squad, the prominent player to be dropped is Dinesh Karthik while Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested as a part of the workload management programme.

Although, Bumrah has been included in the Test squad.

Before the announcement of the squads, there were some experts expecting changes and call-ups for those who have performed well in the India A vs West Indies A series.

Selection day today...who should we look at for the series against the West Indies? Here are some of my suggestions. Agree? Disagree? Which youngsters would you like to see next? Let's talk about that in this episode of #AakashVani. pic.twitter.com/vRgVk9WMJG

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) July 21, 2019

Post the announcement of the squads, cricket experts weighed in over various aspects.

I hope the selectors make it clear who the no 1 keeper for the tests is. Saha is clearly the better keeper, was the incumbent when injured. But if Pant is the keeper they want to go with, there is little to be gained by having Saha hanging around. — Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 21, 2019

If an unfit shikar is picked why not an unfit @vijayshankar260 .. Or are you saying that he is dropped. If so, way too harsh considering he played only a few WC games.#INDvWI #baffling

— Hemang Badani (@hemangkbadani) July 21, 2019

Will Rahul bat at 4 or will he now be the reserve opener? Perhaps Gill deserved a look in, instead of Pandey...No Hardik, so Jadhav could be important (if Virat trusts him to bowl. Remember, Rohit used him with great success in Asia Cup) https://t.co/Cvl7D8z6WS — Hemant (@hemantbuch) July 21, 2019

Mayank Agarwal good enough to be picked for ODI squad in World Cup but not for West Indies ODIs. Clear indication that he was picked then also as cover for KL Rahul, who had a niggle from a fall on the boundary. https://t.co/BDiPFIeMnR

— Anand Vasu (@anandvasu) July 21, 2019

only one pandya but both chahars in T20 squad — Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) July 21, 2019

Lots of all-rounders in the squad. Straight shoot out between Krunal and Jadeja for when Hardik returns? https://t.co/bSD2MDGYpn

— Hemant (@hemantbuch) July 21, 2019

At his peak, Dhoni would never have taken 2 months off to train with the Territorial Army. But as with all of us, priorities change. We should have a clear direction by September when SA is here. But hopefully the selectors have been talking to him and we don't need to speculate. — Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 21, 2019

With inputs from PTI

Updated Date: July 21, 2019 16:22:22 IST

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