India vs West Indies: 3 players unlucky to miss out from ODI squad
Rohit Sharma is fit and back to lead India in the upcoming home series against West Indies, starting February 6. The series will consist of three ODIs and three T20Is. Kuldeep Yadav returns to the squad after a six-month hiatus to provide India with wicket-taking options in the middle overs.
Uncapped leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi has been included in the squad as well. One of the biggest surprises was the inclusion of batting all-rounder Deepak Hooda, who has been included in the ODI squad. Harshal Patel too has found a spot in the T20I squad.
Ravichandran Ashwin has not been included in the side. His Tamil Nadu teammate Washington Sundar returns after missing out on the South Africa tour.
ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (Capt), KL Rahul (vc), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), D Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Y Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan
Here we take a look at 3 players from India who are unlucky to miss out from the ODI squad:
1.) Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan was in India's squad for the South Africa series, but couldn't find a place in the squad for the West Indies series. Rishabh Pant came under a lot of fire for his shot selection against South Africa but the selectors have decided to give him an extended run.
As such, there is no place for Ishan Kishan in the ODI squad as the selectors have not named a second wicket-keeper. Ishan Kishan has been named in the T20I squad and remains one of the favorites to replace Pant if the selectors decide to give the Delhi wicket-keeper a break.
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2.) Venkatesh Iyer
Venkatesh Iyer played in the first two ODIs against South Africa. However, he has not been included in the ODI side for the West Indies series. One of the many reasons behind the same is the emergence of Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur as all-rounders.
In the first two ODIs, Iyer scored a combined 24 runs and could not pick up any wickets. He was dropped for the final ODI in Cape Town. Selectors have named Venkatesh Iyer in the T20I squad and that is where he can stake a claim for the all-rounder's spot across all formats.
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has also said that he feels that Iyer doesn’t have the maturity to play in ODIs yet.
“I feel he should only be considered for T20 cricket. Because he doesn’t have that level of maturity yet. He has been given an opportunity to play international level after watching him in only 7-8 IPL matches," Gambhir told Star Sports.
3.) Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar looked off-color in the ODI series against South Africa. He looked cooked in the first two matches and has now been dropped for the ODI series against West Indies.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was unable to pick up a single wicket in the first two ODIs. He was eventually dropped for the third ODI and was replaced by Deepak Chahar. Chahar picked up a couple of wickets in the third ODI and played a superlative innings that almost took India over the line.
Bhuvneshwar, however, has been included in the T20I squad for the series against West Indies.