Virat Kohli to lead India in first two ODIs against West Indies, Rishabh Pant in, Karthik out

Virat Kohli (Photo: BCCI)


The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Thursday named the final 14-member squad for the first two One Day International (ODI) matches against the West Indies.

Virat Kohli will lead the Men-in-Blue for the first two limited overs games. Delhi wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has been included in the team.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ skipper Dinesh Karthik has been axed from the national team after his back-to-back flop shows in England and in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2018.

 

Chennai Super Kings’ all-rounder Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, and Ravindra Jadeja have retained their spot in the team while Hardik Pandya, who was ruled out from Asia Cup 2018 due to injury, is not included in the squad.

Star Indian pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have also not been included for the first two ODIs. The spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal has been named in the Indian team.

Mohammed Shami, Khaleel Ahmed, and Shardul Thakur have also been included in the Indian squad.

Indian squad for first two ODIs against the West Indies is as follows:

Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (wk), Rishabh Pant, R Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Khaleel Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, and KL Rahul.