India vs West Indies: Rishabh Pant earns maiden ODI call-up

The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Thursday announced a 14-member squad for the first two One-Day Internationals of the five-match series against West Indies. Regular skipper Virat Kohli, who was left out of the Asia Cup following a gruelling England tour, returned to lead the side.

The first ODI will be played on October 21 in Guwahati, while the second will be played at the Visakhapatnam stadium on October 24. Both the matches will be a Day/Night encounter.

Meanwhile, young Delhi wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, who impressed in the Test series against England in seaming conditions has been selected as the second-choice wicketkeeper behind MS Dhoni. It was the 21-year-old’s maiden ODI call-up to the Indian squad.

Also Read: India not being complacent ahead of second Test, says bowling coach Bharat Arun

Pant smashed his only second ball in Test for a gigantic six and also made a brilliant century in the final match at the Oval. India were in a dire condition in the Test when Pant joined KL Rahul at the crease and smashed the English bowlers all over the park even registering his maiden Test hundred.

He also made a 92 against the West Indies in the first Test match at Rajkot, which India won inside three days by an innings and 272 runs. Dinesh Karthik, who was part of the Indian ODI squad for the Asia Cup and the Nindhas trophy faced the axe following a series of poor scores.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old Khaleel Ahmed, who made his senior debut at the Asia Cup in Dubai reaped rewards for his good performance in the multi-team tournament, which India won by beating Bangladesh in the final. Ravindra Jadeja also kept his place as the third spinner after Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar was, however, rested for the first two ODI matches against the Windies. He is reportedly still recovering from the back injury that has been troubling him for the last couple of years.

The Full Squad:

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, KL Rahul

Image Source: IBTimes India