BCCI finalizes seven commentators for West Indies series; Ravi Shastri's comeback delayed
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri's highly-anticipated return to commentary will not take place during the impending home series against the West Indies. The 59-year-old's name does not feature in the commentary team for the ODI as well as the subsequent T20I series.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finalized seven experts for the limited-overs games versus West Indies, as per a report in The Times of India. Shastri is not part of the panel and fans will have to wait further to see him back in the commentary box.
Sunil Gavaskar, L Sivaramakrishnan, Harsha Bhogle, Deep Dasgupta, Murali Kartik, Ajit Agarkar and Ian Bishop will be the commentators for the three-match ODI series. Apart from Sivaramakrishnan, the other six aforementioned names will also be in the box for the three T20Is.
The Times of India (TOI) also reported that Shastri is not considering taking up commentary until the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. A source close to Shastri told TOI:
"He has taken a conscious decision not to take up commentary immediately, at least till the IPL. He has a lot on the table and for two more months he will remain busy. He will think over it after that.”
Shastri is currently in Oman for the ongoing Legends League Cricket 2022. It is worth mentioning that he is the commissioner of the T20 competition. He is also not expected to commentate during India's next home series against Sri Lanka.
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India and West Indies to lock horns on February 6, 2022
The ODI series opener between the two cricketing nations will be played on February 6 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The other two 50-over matches will also be played at the same venue, while the T20I fixtures will be hosted by the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Rohit Sharma is set to return to cricketing action with the West Indies series and will lead the 'Men in Blue' for the six white-ball games. KL Rahul has been named Sharma's deputy.
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
T20I squad: Rohit Sharma(Capt),KL Rahul (vc),Ishan Kishan,Virat Kohli,Shreyas Iyer,Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk),Venkatesh Iyer,Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi,Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel
Senior pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami have been rested for the West Indies series. Ravindra Jadeja will also not feature in any of the matches as he is undergoing the final stage of recovery post knee surgery. KL Rahul will be available from 2nd ODI onwards.