India name young squad for West Indies ODIs
Shikhar Dhawan is set to lead the side, with Ravindra Jadeja named vice-captain. India will play three ODIs in Trinidad, starting 22 July.
Several key members of the ODI squad, including regular captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah among others, have been rested for the series.
Deepak Hooda has been rewarded for his impressive showing in the recent T20Is and finds a place in the squad. Shubman Gill returns to the ODI setup for the first time since the tour of Australia in 2020.
With Rishabh Pant rested, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson will be the designated wicket-keepers. The spin trio of Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel will be tasked with leading the bowling attack in the absence of senior fast bowlers.
India have opted to field a young, inexperienced pace attack for the series. Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh complete India's fast-bowling unit. Of the five, the most capped is Shardul Thakur with 19 ODIs while Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh are yet to make their ODI debut.
India squad: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
After the completion of the ODI series, India are set to play West Indies in five T20Is in what will be considered to be crucial preparation for the T20 World Cup later this year.
ODI series schedule:
All games will be played at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain and will begin at 9:30 AM local time (7 PM IST)
First ODI: 22 July
Second ODI: 24 July
Third ODI: 27 July