Pant picked for first two ODIs against West Indies

Hyderabad:: The selectors announced the 14-member India squad for the first two one-day internationals against West Indies on Thursday.

Young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has been included in the ODI squad as a cover for veteran MS Dhoni while senior-pro Dinesh Karthik has been left out.

Karthik didn't have a decent show during the Asia Cup 2018 in UAE and the move also hints that the selectors have made up their mind to groom young Pant before Dhoni retires.

Pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been rested for the first two ODIs while Mohammed Shami has been included in the limited-overs set up. KL Rahul has found himself in the squad while it remains to be seen if he's going to play. Same would be the case with Manish Pandey who was seen warming up the benches in the Asia Cup.

Virat Kohli, who was rested for the Asia Cup, has returned in the squad and will be leading India while Rohit Sharma will be acting as his deputy. Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Khaleel Ahmed, and Shardul Thakur have all retained their spots.

India squad for 1st two ODIs: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (vice captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Khaleel Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, KL Rahul.

Rayudu has also be been rewarded for his impressive show in the Asia Cup and it will be interesting to see at which number he will be asked to bat as Kohli will retain his regular No. 3 spot on return.

All-rounders Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya are not included in the first two ODIs because they both were injured during the Asia Cup. Hardik was injured against Pakistan while suffered an injury during the final against Bangladesh.

However, it was Kedar who ensured India had the last laugh in the nail-biting final against a spirited Bangla Tigers. The Pune cricketer was equally effective with the ball in the middle overs and gave his team those crucial breakthroughs whenever a partnership was getting dangerous for them.

Team for first 2 ODIs against Windies announced

Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (wk),Rishabh Pant, R Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Khaleel Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, KL Rahul #INDvWI

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 11, 2018