India vs West Indies: Akshar Patel added to ODI squad, Manish Pandey included for T20I

In the only change, India’s selectors have added Gujarat and Kings XI Punjab left-arm spinner Akshar Patel the ODI squad for the final two matches against West Indies. Akshar has also been included in the 14-member squad for the sole T20 International, along with Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey. Akshar made his ODI debut earlier this year against Bangladesh, playing all three matches on a tour where India’s regulars were rested. He managed nine runs from two innings and took 1 for 59 from 10 overs in the only match in which he got a bowl. That selection came on the back of a very good 2014 IPL season for Kings XI Punjab. Akshar also had an excellent 2014 Champions League T20, where he took with eight wickets from five games with an economy-rate of 6.15. [caption id=“attachment_1756259” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of Akshar Patel. Getty Images[/caption] Pandey’s selections comes after impressive showings in the IPL and CLT20. The 25-year-old amassed 401 runs at an average of 30.84 for Kolkata Knight Riders, including the match-winning 94 in the final against Kings XI Punjab. He carried his form in to the CLT20, where he scored 172 runs at an average of 43. Karn Sharma, Sanju Samson and Stuart Binny have retained their places in the T20 squad from the tour of England, but Ambati Rayudu has been dropped. The final two ODIs will be played in Dharamsala on the 17th and in Kolkata on the 20th of October. The one-off T20I will be played in Cuttack on 22 October. The board also released the squads for the tour matches against the West Indies. Suresh Raina will captain the Board President’s side in the three-day match to be played at Kanpur from 25 October to 27 October. Rohit Sharma, who has not played cricket since injuring his finger on the England tour, has been named in the squad for the Kanpur match. While Rohit’s finger has healed, a shoulder injury kept him out of the West Indies ODIs. Squad for last two ODIs: M.S. Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli,Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Murali Vijay, Kuldeep Yadav, Akshar Patel. Squad for one-off T20I: M.S. Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Stuart Binny, Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel, Karn Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Sanju Samson, Manish Pandey, Umesh Yadav. Board President’s squad: Suresh Raina (Captain), Jiwanjot Singh, K.L. Rahul, Naman Ojha, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha, Karun Nair, Parvez Rasool, Pankaj Singh, Ishwar Pandey, Jasprit Bumrah, Karn Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav.