"Good to see new faces" - Twitter praises BCCI amid big changes in India squad for West Indies ODIs, T20Is

Deepak Hooda (L) has been picked for India's ODIs vs West Indies and Ravi Bishnoi (R) has been picked for ODIs and T20Is.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the India squads for the ODI and T20 International (T20I) series at home against the West Indies on Wednesday.

New white-ball captain Rohit Sharma is set to return to action after missing the tour of South Africa with injury. The squads saw the addition of several new faces, including the likes of Deepak Hooda and Ravi Bishnoi as well as Avesh Khan.

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

There was a lot of praise for the BCCI for the new-look squads, amid calls for a transition following a disappointing outing in the 2021 T20 World Cup and the 3-0 ODI series whitewash in South Africa.

Here are the best reactions:

You came out of a tough phase, you kept fighting, kept performing. So proud @HoodaOnFire congratulations 🥳 Make the most of it. Congratulations to Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh khan too. #INDvWI

Some brilliant selection calls by India with the inclusion of Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan in both formats - Deepak Hooda in ODI format (might play at 6) - both sides looked well balanced than which played in South Africa with Sundar and Axar returning to the setup.

Highlights Of India's ODI Squad vs WI:-

•Rohit Sharma is Back.
•Virat Kohli will play.
•Ruturaj Gaikwad in the Squad.
•Deepak Hooda is in Squad.
•KulCha is Back - Kuldeep & Yuzi.
•Washington Sundar returns.
•Avesh Khan is in Squad.
•Shami & Bumrah has rested.

Deepak Hooda ?? 👀 Great choice since we desperately need a good finisher in ODIs.

- Ravi Bishnoi , a young and exciting prospect in spin bowling chosen for ODIs.
- Imposing faith in the proven duo of Kuldeep and Chahal.
- Pace duo of Siraj and Avesh being included .
- Deepak Hooda , a talented batsman who can also bowl .

Very good selections overall !!

And here we go.... 😍
Maiden ODI and T20I call-up for @bishnoi0056! 🤩

Way to go, champ!🙌

📸: @ICC
#LucknowSuperGiants #TeamIndia #INDvWI https://t.co/BVK60Oi6jE

Venkatesh Iyer 🤝 Eden Gardens 💜🇮🇳

#INDvWI 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲-𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗧𝟮𝟬𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀:
🗓️ 16 Feb / 18 Feb / 20 Feb - 📍 Kolkata twitter.com/BCCI/status/14…

Good to see new faces like Bishnoi and Avesh. twitter.com/cricbuzz/statu…

Congratulations to Deepak Hooda(Odi) And Ravi Bishnoi(Odi & T20) for selection in Indian team❤️

#INDvsWI • @bcci https://t.co/nDOlTnh0jT

Absolutely love this squad.

Very very happy for Deepak Hooda, hope he is tried in this series at 6.

Either him or SKY! twitter.com/BCCI/status/14…

Good team. Good to see Siraj, PK and Avesh in the pace attack. Deepak Hooda is a huge W twitter.com/BCCI/status/14…

India rest Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami for West Indies series

Senior pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were among the notable exclusions from both squads and the BCCI announced that the duo has been rested. The board also revealed that vice-captain KL Rahul will miss the first ODI but will be available from the second ODI onwards, which also includes the three T20Is.

Ravindra Jadeja is in the final stages of his recovery from a knee injury and will miss the series, while Axar Patel is set to be fit in time for the T20I series, the BCCI said.

Another interesting development was the selection of Kuldeep Yadav in the ODI squad. He has been called up despite not having played any professional cricket since undergoing knee surgery in September last year, and not having been in the best of form before that either. However, if he is picked to play, India will finally see the return of 'KulCha' -- the partnership between him and fellow wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.

All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer has been dropped from the ODI squad, but has been retained in the T20I squad. Washington Sundar, who missed out on the South Africa ODIs due to COVID-19, is part of both squads and is set to play international cricket for the first time since March last year.

The three-match ODI series will begin on February 6, with all matches scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad, while the three T20Is will be played starting February 16 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.