India announce ODI squad for West Indies series - Ashwin rested, Kuldeep Yadav included

Ravichandran Ashwin has been rested for the first 3 ODIs against West Indies at home

The Indian selectors have made the surprise inclusion of 19-year-old chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav in the 14-member squad for the first three matches of the upcoming 5-match ODI series against West Indies. Main spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been rested.

With the World Cup just a few months away, it was thought that the selectors would not look to experiment with the squad, but they have gone a little bit against the grain.

Team for first 3 matches: MSD (C), Shikhar, Rahane, Virat, Raina, Rayudu, Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Bhuvi, Shami, Mohit, Umesh, Vijay, Kuldeep.

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 4, 2014

R Ashwin has been rested and the matches will be played at Kochi, Delhi and Vishakhapatnam on Oct 8, 11th and 14th

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 4, 2014

Yadav’s surprise inclusion in the squad comes on the back of his impressive performances for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the ongoing CLT20. He had also starred for the Indian Under-19 side during the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, taking a hat-trick against Scotland. But he is yet to make his first-class and List A debut for Uttar Pradesh (UP) and has played just 8 T20 games – four each for KKR and UP - in total.

Amit Mishra has also earned a recall after being left out of the ODI squad for India’s recent tour of England, leaving no place for Karn Sharma. Apart from Karn, the other 3 players missing out after featuring in the previous squad are Sanju Samson, Stuart Binny and Dhawal Kulkarni.

Opener Murali Vijay, who came in as a replacement for the injured Rohit Sharma during the England ODI series, is once again the beneficiary of Rohit’s continued absence, though Dhawan and Rahane are likely to continue as regular openers.

The 5-match ODI series is scheduled from October 8-20. The venues for the 5 ODIs are Kochi, Delhi, Visakhapatnam, Dharamsala and Kolkata, respectively.

Squad: MS Dhoni (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Murali Vijay, Kuldeep Yadav.