India's T20 squad against West Indies: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli dropped again; Sanju Samson returns

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced India's T20 squad for their upcoming tour of the West Indies. An official statement by the BCCI, announcing the squad, read, "The Senior Men's Selection Committee on Wednesday picked India's squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against West Indies to be played in the Caribbean Islands and in Florida, USA."

 

 

 

 

Hardik Pandya will take the mantle of captaincy in the absence of Rohit Sharma, while Suryakumar Yadav will be his deputy. Virat Kohli is another notable absentee from the T20I squad, with Sanju Samson likely to come in at Number 3 in the batting line-up.

 

The absence of Sharma and Kohli is not solely due to rest, as they have not been part of the last three T20 series, including the current one against the West Indies.

 

 

 

Left-arm paceman Arshdeep Singh also found his way back into the Indian team after not finding a place in the Test and ODI squads. Rinku Singh, known for his finishing skills for KKR in the IPL, did not make the cut for the 15-member squad.

 

One notable addition to the team is Tilak Varma, a promising left-handed batsman from Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is set to make his Test debut soon, has also earned a spot in the T20 squad following his remarkable performances in the IPL. The selection committee, chaired by Ajit Agarkar, had no major surprises in its first meeting.

 

Both teams will lock horns for a five-match T20I series, the first of which will be played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad, on August 3. The second T20I will be played at the Guyana National Stadium, Guyana on August 6 while the third will be hosted at the same venue on August 8. The fourth and the fifth T20I fixtures will be played at the Broward County Stadium, Florida on August 12 and 13.

 

India’s squad for the five-match T20I series against West Indies: Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Surya Kumar Yadav (VC), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya (C), Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Avesh Khan, and Mukesh Kumar.