WI vs IND: Shikhar Dhawan to lead in ODI series
Senior opener Shikhar Dhawan is set to lead India in the upcoming ODI series against the West Indies. The All-India Senior Selection Committee picked the squad for the three-match series on Wednesday. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will be Dhawan's deputy in the series. Meanwhile, senior players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rishabh Pant have been rested. Here are further details.
India's squad: Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Ravindra Jadeja (vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.
This is not Dhawan's first captain stint with Team India. He led the side in the three-match ODI in Sri Lanka last year. Back then, the senior members of the side were involved in the England Test series. Dhawan finished as India's leading run-scorer in the series, having slammed 128 runs at an incredible average of 64.00
As many as eight players have led Team India across formats since July 2021. These are Virat Kohli (12), Rohit Sharma (14), Shikhar Dhawan (6), KL Rahul (4), Hardik Pandya (2), Rishabh Pant (5), Ajinkya Rahane (1), and Jasprit Bumrah (1). Notably, Dhawan owns the highest average among them in this period (42.80), while Rohit is unbeaten as captain.
Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson will serve as wicket-keepers in the absence of Pant in the Caribbean. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who is with Team India for England ODIs, retains his spot. The squad also includes spin-bowling all-rounder Deepak Hooda, who shone in Ireland. Meanwhile, Rohit, Kohli, Bumrah, Pant, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, and injured KL Rahul will skip the series.
The three-match ODI series between West Indies and India will begin on July 22 at Queen's Park Oval (Port of Spain, Trinidad). This venue will also host the next two ODIs on 24 and 27, respectively. The ODI series will be followed by a five-match T20I series. Trinidad, St Kitts, and Lauderhill (Florida) are the venues for the series.
