Rohit Sharma’s non-inclusion was the only surprise as the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s selection committee on Thursday announced India’s 15-member squad for their upcoming tour of West Indies.
Two notable inclusions in the squad were Delhi’s dashing wicket-keeper and batsman Rishabh Pant and Uttar Pradesh’s left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Dinesh Karthik, who was drafted in as a last-minute replacement for injured Manish Pandey for India’s Champions Trophy squad, has also been included in the team, which will be led by Virat Kohli.
As expected, the BCCI announced in a release that the administrative staff of the team will also continue on this tour which indicates that Anil Kumble will continue in his role as head coach, amidst reports of a rift with captain Kohli.
No reason was mentioned in the release for Rohit Sharma’s exclusion. India will play five One-Day Internationals and a one-off Twenty20 International in West Indies with the first ODI in Trinidad on June 23.
Indian squad for West Indies tour:
Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Ajinkya Rahane, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and Dinesh Karthik