India Squad For West Indies Tour 2019 Announced: Virat Kohli To Captain Side; MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya Rested

India squad for West Indies Tour 2019 has been announced. Contrary to speculations of Virat Kohli being rested, the 30-year-old remains the captain for Team India and will be leading the side in all three formats. Rohit Sharma has been named the Vice Captain for ODIs and T20Is while Ajinkya Rahane has been named the deputy of Kohli in two-match Test series. Indian wicket-keeper batsman, MS Dhoni, whose participation had been under mystery since the conclusion of India's Cricket World Cup 2019 campaign also cleared. MS Dhoni will not be touring with the side and has been rested. Along with Dhoni, Hardik Pandya has also been given rest. Bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for ODIs and T20Is but will be available for Test matches.

MSK Prasad-led selectors committee has given a clear emphasis on India A performances due to which  Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer have been selected in the T20I team. Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni have been rested. MS Dhoni, who had applied for a two-month leave from cricket, was expectedly left out of all the three squads – T20s, ODIs and Tests – while Navdeep Saini came in as the surprise inclusion. India play three T20 and ODI matches each before a two-match Test series against the West Indies. India vs West Indies Series 2019 Schedule in IST, Free PDF Download: Get Fixtures, Time Table With Match Timings and Venue Details of India's Tour of West Indies.

India’s tour of West Indies will be its first cricketing assignment ever since the heart-breaking ICC Cricket World Cup exit. India finished on top of the points table in the league phase but its over-dependence on the top-order and the contentious fourth and fifth batting position were left exposed in the semi-final against New Zealand as soon as the top three of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli departed for single-digit scores.

Team for the ODIs.

Team for Test matches.

The continuous failures of the middle order called for major overhauls as India prepare to launch another title chase in the build-up to the upcoming ICC T20 Cricket World Cup 2020 and eventually the 50 Over World Cup on home soil four years later.

With changes imminent, the tour to the Caribbean Island was elevated with some new faces expected to make their international debut. The choice of wicket-keepers was a hot topic for discussion, especially after regular limited-overs wicket-keeper MS Dhoni requested for a two-month break from cricket to serve in the Parachute Military regiment.

Meanwhile, Kohli and Bumrah’s participation in the full-tour were also in doubts with rumours doing rounds that the duo might be given a short break for recapitulating, while the BCCI also solidifies its bench strength.

Earlier, the selection meeting to pick the squads for the full tour of West Indies was supposed to be held in Mumbai on July 19 (Friday) but was later deferred to a later date. The committee led by MSK Prasad were speculated expected to meet on July 21 (Sunday).

Meanwhile, India were knocked out of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 following the 18-run defeat to New Zealand in an ironical two-day semi-final game. India dominated the first day but the match couldn’t produce a result owing to inclement weather and poor pitch conditions. Both teams returned and resumed the game on the second day. But in a dramatic turn of events, India lost and were knocked out of CWC 2019 despite losing only two games. England lost three and were World champions.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 21, 2019 02:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).