The Indian squad for the limited-overs series against West Indies was selected on Thursday during the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 semi-final against Bangladesh. The selectors decided to pick almost the same team that went for the Champions Trophy, barring Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah, who were both rested.
Extra Cover: Rishabh Pant speaks after his maiden ODI call-up for West Indies series
Although the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Rishabh Pant earned their maiden ODI call-up, there were others who were unlucky not to get selected for the West Indies tour. While the tour is not to be taken lightly, India could have included some fringe players and we look at 5 options here:
5.Jayant Yadav
The Haryana off-spinner had a good beginning in his international career last year when he impressed in the series against England.While Ashwin has had an okay Champions Trophy so far, like Ravindra Jadeja, he could have been given a bit of a break ahead of a long tour to Sri Lanka that follows.
Yadav has shown himself to be a good off-spinner and more than capable batsman and opportunity would have helped him get more exposure to international cricket.
4.Ambati Rayudu
The right-hander has not been in the Indian scheme of things for a long time now and would have hoped to get a recall for the tour.
In whatever little chance that he has got, the right-hander has done well in bilateral series against the likes of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe and could have been given an opportunity in this series.
Like Suresh Raina, his situation also seems grim and it remains t be seen if he gets a chance when the selectors pick a second-string squad.
3.Yuzvendra Chahal
The leg-spinner, who has featured in the T20 scheme of things and has done well, could have been an option. Chahal won the Player of the match award in his last game for India when he ran through England in Bengaluru and could have been a good option in slower West Indies wickets.
Chahal has shown promise in the opportunities that he has got and could have been picked for this short tour.
2.Axar Patel
While Ravindra Jadeja has shown good form with the ball in this Champions Trophy, it would not have been the worst idea to pick Axar Patel in the squad for this tour. The Gujarat cricketer had a good time with the ball in the IPL and has shown good skills with the ball, at least, in limited-overs cricket.
At No.13, Axar is the highest ranked Indian ODI bowler and yet not only was not picked for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 but also for the series against West Indies, where his all-round ability would have come in handy.
With India scheduled to head to Sri Lanka for a full-fledged tour after the tour to West Indies, Patel could have been picked ahead of Jadeja for this short tour.
1.Suresh Raina
The left-hander who was part of standby players for the Champions Trophy once again did not find a mention in the squad. Raina has not played any active cricket since the Indian Premier League and maybe he could have been given a chance by resting one of the middle-order players.
It will really be interesting to see how the selectors handle a situation like Raina finds himself right now. He surely does not find himself in the main squad, at least for now.
If a second string team is chosen in any of the future series, will he get a spot? The answer to that we will know then.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
