Rohit Sharma is all set to lead team India for the WI series after getting fit; Kuldeep Yadav returns in the ODIs

Rohit Sharma, who has recovered from an injury, will lead India in the home series against the West Indies starting February 6. Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav has also returned to the team. Deepak Hooda of Rajasthan has been named to the ODI squad for the first time on the batting front.

Rohit has been out of cricket since the T20I series against New Zealand at home last year. He also missed the tour of South Africa due to injury. On the other hand, the hitman has healed in time for the West Indies series. On Wednesday, he passed a fitness test at the Bangalore Cricket Academy, indicating that he is the new captain of the Indian squad.

KL Rahul was the captain in the three-match ODI series against South Africa due to Rohit’s injury. Before the tour of South Africa, Ajinkya Rahane was replaced by Rohit as the vice-captain of the Test team. The BCCI snatched the captaincy from Kohli in the ODIs after he stepped down as captain of the T20I. The Indian opener, Rohit, was responsible for limited-overs cricket after that. After Kohli’s resignation as Test captain, Rohit can also get Test captaincy.

Fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami have rested against the Caribbeans while keeping the international calendar in mind. Besides, vice-captain KL Rahul will be available for the rest of the series even if he misses the first ODI.

On the other hand, spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been included in the ODI squad despite not playing any competitive cricket for six months. Because in the middle of the innings, there is a great need for the option of taking wickets for India, and Kuldeep has an excellent record of doing that responsibility. Besides, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi has a maiden call in India’s squads.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has only got a place in the T20I squad. Spinner Washington Sundar has replaced senior player Ravichandran Ashwin in the ODI and T20I squads. Avesh Khan, who performed well in IPL 2021, has been called up in both squads.

India will play a three-match ODI and three-match T20I series at home against the West Indies. Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will stage all the matches of the ODI series. The T20 series will take place at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav,  Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan

T20I Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Surya Kumar Yadav,  Venkatesh Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel