"Good to see new faces" - Twitter praises BCCI amid big changes in India squad for West Indies ODIs, T20Is

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the India squads for the ODI and T20 International (T20I) series at home against the West Indies on Wednesday.

New white-ball captain Rohit Sharma is set to return to action after missing the tour of South Africa with injury. The squads saw the addition of several new faces, including the likes of Deepak Hooda and Ravi Bishnoi as well as Avesh Khan.

There was a lot of praise for the BCCI for the new-look squads, amid calls for a transition following a disappointing outing in the 2021 T20 World Cup and the 3-0 ODI series whitewash in South Africa.

Here are the best reactions:

India rest Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami for West Indies series

Senior pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were among the notable exclusions from both squads and the BCCI announced that the duo has been rested. The board also revealed that vice-captain KL Rahul will miss the first ODI but will be available from the second ODI onwards, which also includes the three T20Is.

Ravindra Jadeja is in the final stages of his recovery from a knee injury and will miss the series, while Axar Patel is set to be fit in time for the T20I series, the BCCI said.

Another interesting development was the selection of Kuldeep Yadav in the ODI squad. He has been called up despite not having played any professional cricket since undergoing knee surgery in September last year, and not having been in the best of form before that either. However, if he is picked to play, India will finally see the return of 'KulCha' -- the partnership between him and fellow wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.

All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer has been dropped from the ODI squad, but has been retained in the T20I squad. Washington Sundar, who missed out on the South Africa ODIs due to COVID-19, is part of both squads and is set to play international cricket for the first time since March last year.

The three-match ODI series will begin on February 6, with all matches scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad, while the three T20Is will be played starting February 16 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.