Rohit Sharma to lead, rest for Jasprit Bumrah: Team India’s likely squad for ODI series against West Indies

KEY STORY

After disappointing series defeats against South Africa, Team India will aim to bounce back in the lengthy home season which kicks off with a white-ball series against West Indies, from February 5. India will host WI, Sri Lanka and South Africa during the home season, which will end in June.

Rohit Sharma is now fit and will be making his full-time captaincy debut next week. The opening batsman had missed the SA tour due to a hamstring issue. The selection committee is likely to make a couple of changes to the squad which toured SA while multi-format players could be rested for the series.

Owing to the COVID-19 situation in the country, all three ODIs will be played in Ahmedabad while the 3 T20Is will be played in Kolkata. Before the BCCI announces the squad for the series, here’s a look at Team India’s likely squad for West Indies ODIs –

Openers

Rohit will be back to take the opening spot and will kick off the proceedings with Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan made a solid comeback on the SA tour and scored two half-centuries to assure the team management that he is raring to play another World Cup. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who made it to the ODI team on the back of his success in IPL and domestic cricket, is likely to keep his spot.

Middle-order

Virat Kohli will have the responsibility to carry the middle-order. The middle-order’s struggles was one of the reasons behind Team India’s defeat in SA. Rishabh Pant is likely to be backed to bat at 4 while vice-captain KL Rahul will be back at number 5.

Both Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer are expected to keep their spots. But Suryakumar will have an edge over Iyer for a place in the final XI as the former Delhi Capitals’ skipper couldn’t capitalise on the opportunities in SA.

All-rounders

Shardul Thakur looks set to keep his spot while Venkatesh Iyer might only be given a chance if Hardik Pandya is not available for selection. There is no official word on Pandya’s availability yet.

Chief selector Chetan Sharma had included all-rounder Rishi Dhawan on the list of players the selection committee would consider for selection going ahead. And it will be interesting to see if the Himachal Pradesh’s skipper earns a recall after nearly 6 years. He scored 458 runs and dismissed 17 batsmen in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Axar Patel is likely to be fit for the series.

Bowlers

Jasprit Bumrah played every game on the SA tour and is likely to be rested. Mohammed Shami, who was rested for SA ODIs, is expected to be back for the series. As per Cricbuzz, R Ashwin is unavailable for selection due to a treatment. His absence is likely to see Jayant Yadav keep his spot. Yuzvendra Chahal will be the 3rd spinner.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar could lose his spot due to a below-par performance in SA while the rest of the pacers should keep their spots.

Team India’s likely ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Venkatesh Iyer/Rishi Dhawan, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj