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“Perhaps message from team management is that he has to wait,” Ganguly says about Shubman Gill’s Test future

PTI27-Feb-2023Sourav Ganguly isn’t surprised at the criticism KL Rahul has been getting, saying “when you fail for a while, obviously there will be criticism”. Ganguly also said that Rahul’s problems in Test cricket – he hasn’t crossed 25 in his last ten innings – are both technical and psychological.”When you don’t score runs in India, obviously you will get flak. KL Rahul hasn’t been the only one. There have been players in the past also,” Ganguly told PTI on the sidelines of a Delhi Capitals pre-season camp. “There’s so much focus and attention with lot of pressure on players. The team management thinks he is an important player for the team. At the end of the day, what coach and captain thinks is important.”In the ongoing series against Australia, Rahul, opening the innings alongside Rohit Sharma, has returned scores of 20, 17 and 1. His last half-century came in Johannesburg in January 2022, the same series in which he scored his last Test century. Overall, after 47 Tests, he has an average of 33.44, which dips to 13.57 in the last 12 months (though the sample is of just four Tests).Related

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“He has performed [over the years] but obviously you expect a lot more from a top-order batter playing for India because the standards set by others are so high,” Ganguly said. “When you fail for a while, obviously there will be criticism. I am sure Rahul has ability and I am sure as and when he gets more opportunities, he will have to find ways to score.”When asked whether Rahul’s problems were technical or psychological, Ganguly said, “Both.”The criticism has been severe. Rahul’s statemate and senior colleague Venkatesh Prasad has perhaps been the most vocal, while on ESPNcricinfo’s Match Day programme, Wasim Jaffer said earlier in the series that Rahul would have been dropped by now, and replaced by Shubman Gill had he not been the vice-captain of the team.As such, while Rahul was the vice-captain for the first two Tests, no vice-captain has been named for the last two Tests of the series against Australia.”It also makes it hard if you are playing on these sort of pitches as the balls are turning and bouncing,” Ganguly said of Rahul’s struggles. “There’s uneven bounce and when you are not in form, it makes it even more harder.”0:55

Jaffer: If Rahul wasn’t vice-captain, Gill would have replaced him

Shubman Gill ‘has to wait’ – Sourav Ganguly

While Rahul has struggled, Gill, who has been in red-hot form in white-ball cricket in the recent past and has an average of 32 from 13 Tests, the last of them in December last year, has sat out. Ganguly suggested that Gill would have to wait his turn.”I am sure when his time comes, he will also get a lot of opportunities,” Ganguly said. “I think the selectors, the captain and the coach think of him and rate him very highly. That’s why he is playing ODIs and T20Is, and he has performed as well.”But at the present moment, perhaps message from team management is that he has to wait.”Though Rahul has faced the brunt of the criticism, it’s true that most of India’s top-order batters have had a rough time on the tricky pitches of Nagpur and Delhi. While the Australians have crossed 200 just once in four innings and recorded a sub-100 total once, none of the specialist Indian batters bar Rohit have had much success. India’s three top run-getters are Rohit (183), Axar Patel (158) and Ravindra Jadeja (96), with Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, of the batters who have played both Tests, aggregating 76 and 38, respectively, so far.And while R Ashwin and Jadeja have been incredible with the ball, Todd Murphy and Nathan Lyon have been impressive too.”These are very tough wickets. I saw in the first two Tests and it’s not easy, boss,” Ganguly said. “Playing Ashwin, Jadeja, Lyon and the new guy, Todd Murphy, it is never easy with odd ball turning square. There is unevenness, there is everything happening for spinners.”

Mitch Perry and Todd Murphy added an unbroken 47 after Tasmania threatened to turn the game

AAP18-Mar-2022Victoria have one foot in the Sheffield Shield final after a tense and potentially pivotal two-wicket win over Tasmania in Melbourne.A see-sawing final day at Junction Oval ended in Victoria’s favour thanks to a 47-run unbeaten tail-end partnership between 21-year-old Mitchell Perry and second-game rookie Todd Murphy.The pair displayed maturity beyond their years to bat for an hour and get the home side over the line with 8.2 overs to spare.Perry ended on 32 not out – three short of his highest first-class score in 14 matches – while Murphy hit the winning runs to finish unbeaten on 24.With both teams seeking to become the only state with three wins, the result pushes Victoria top of the standings going into next week’s final round.Earlier, Victoria had seemed well in control in pursuit of 231 to win from 82 overs. Travis Dean piled on a boundary-laden 47 at just over a run a ball as Victoria quickly reached 74 for the first wicket.However, a middle-order collapse – they lost 5 for 40 – changed the momentum completely. Tom Andrews picked up the key wickets of Nic Maddinson and wicketkeeper Sam Harper, while debutant fellow spinner Ben Manenti returned 3 for 89.Earlier, Tasmania advanced from their overnight 7 for 170 to be all out for 209 as Perry finished with 4 for 31. Peter Handscomb claimed nine catches for the match, the second most by an outfielder in first-class history, his last a fantastic diving take at midwicket.Tasmania can still reach the season decider with victory at home against Queensland, while Victoria will shore up hosting rights if they win in Perth.

Opener unbeaten on 77 as Durham find chances hard to come by after overnight declaration 394 ahead

ECB Reporters Network17-Apr-2022Leicestershire defiantly held out for a draw in their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two match against Durham at the Riverside, losing only two wickets on the final day of the contest.Durham declared overnight with a lead of 394 in the hope of pressing for their first victory of the campaign, but chances were hard to come by on a lifeless wicket. Ollie Gibson had a day to remember as he claimed his maiden first-class wicket to mark an encouraging performance with the ball in difficult conditions.Sam Evans provided the stoic defence required to see his team to the draw, collecting his first fifty of the term and holding out an end for over 250 deliveries, unbeaten on 77 before the captains shook hands. Durham moved to second place in the table after gaining 15 points, while Leicestershire collected 12 for their exploits to remain undefeated after two matches.After Durham declared their second innings, Leicestershire began their attempt to see out the day in defiant fashion with Hassan Azad and Evans. Chris Rushworth and Matthew Potts passed the bat on a few occasions, while the odd delivery kept low, but it was not enough to trouble the visitors’ openers. Both batters received blows to the body and Evans was struck on the helmet as he attempted to avoid a bouncer from Potts.However, they were rewarded for their resilience when Evans found the fence to bring up the fifty partnership in the 19th over. Leicestershire were on their way to shutting out the home side in the morning session, but Azad made an uncharacteristic mistake against Liam Trevaskis, losing his shape a the crease and was subsequently bowled through his legs to end the opening stand for 66. Frustration crept in for the home side after lunch as George Rhodes survived edging Potts between Ned Eckersley and David Bedingham, and a great shout for a catch at short leg by Sean Dickson which was deemed to have hit the ground.Gibson eventually prised out Rhodes to claim a deserved maiden first-class wicket, with arguably one of his worst deliveries of the match as the Leicestershire man gloved a leg glance behind to Eckersley. Evans’ defiance continued and he worked his way to his half-century from 140 balls, keeping matters simple with a stubborn resistance against the home side.Durham skipper Scott Borthwick attempted a variety of methods to look for a way into the Leicestershire line-up, but the Riverside day-four pitch offered no assistance for the home side in pursuit of their first win of the season. Evans and Colin Ackermann were steadfast in their defence and posted an unbeaten partnership of 84 for the third wicket before both sides agreed to call time on the contest, settling for the stalemate.

Afghanistan lost their group games to Scotland, Zimbabwe and Hong Kong and entered the Super Six with no points, but victories over West Indies, UAE and Ireland – as well as helpful results in other games – meant that Friday’s win took them to the 2019 Wo

The Report by Liam Brickhill in Harare23-Mar-2018Afghanistan completed a miraculous revival to secure their passage to the World Cup in England next year with a five-wicket win over Ireland in the final Super Six match of the qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe. Afghanistan lost their group games to Scotland, Zimbabwe and Hong Kong and entered the Super Six with no points, but victories over West Indies, UAE and Ireland – as well as helpful results in other games – meant that their World Cup dreams came to rest on their final match against Ireland. Chasing 210 on a slow track, Mohammad Shahzad led the way with a rapid fifty before Asghar Stanikzai, who missed the group stage due to an emergency appendectomy, secured the result with an unbeaten 39.Shahzad, who had been suspended from taking part in Afghanistan’s last two group games after picking up a demerit point in the team’s loss to Zimbabwe, quickly showed what his team had been missing in his absence. Despite the sluggish pitch, he made scoring look easy and his first boundary came from a remarkable pick-up six over long leg off a Barry McCarthy half-volley.In his second match as an opener, Gulbadin Naib was the perfect foil to Shahzad’s more rambunctious style. Having started in Afghanistan’s lower-middle order, Naib has slowly moved upwards and today he wore the responsibility of opener well. Foregoing all but the safest of shots, together with Shahzad he ensured Afghanistan got through the first 15 overs unscathed.At the other end, Shahzad kept the scorecard ticking. Having seen the shine off the ball, he launched the attack on Ireland’s spinners, and moved through the forties with a series of boundaries. Andy McBrine was clubbed to wide long-on, and then onto the roof of the three-storey building at the City End of the ground. Shahzad brought up a 48-ball fifty in the 17th over, but then played one shot too many and was caught in the deep off Simi Singh in the same over.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

That dismissal gave Ireland the opening they needed to start working through the middle order, and by the 30th over Afghanistan had added just 31 runs, losing Rahmat Shah and Gulbadin Naib along the way. Simi had his third wicket when Mohammad Nabi dragged a ball to McBrine at deep midwicket, and at 145 for 4 in the 38th over, Afghanistan were wobbling a little.They had been in a very similar position in their match against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo earlier this month, but this time around there was one crucial difference: their captain, Stanikzai, was at the crease. With the required rate creeping above seven, Stanikzai helped take 15 off an over from McCarthy, and he responded to Samiullah Shenwari’s dismissal with an ice-cool dab to the third man boundary off a slow bouncer from Tim Murtagh. Stanikzai was clearly in pain all the while, clutching his side after every big shot or every hard-run two.Najibullah Zadran narrowed the gap between Afghanistan and World Cup qualification to single figures with an enormous six that landed at the top of the grand stand, but fittingly it was Stanikzai who brought them home in the last over. Jamming his bat down on a McCarthy yorker, an inside edge sent the ball skidding down to the fine-leg boundary, and Afghanistan’s incredible revival was complete.For Ireland, a tospy-turvy campaign ultimately ended in disapppointment. Having decided to bat , they adopted a slow and steady approach in the morning. Openers William Porterfield and Paul Stirling had both scored hundreds in this tournament, but neither was at their most fluent on Friday. Under heavy, grey skies on a slightly tired pitch they managed just 37 from the Powerplay, despite Stirling taking three boundaries off Dawlat Zadran.Mohammad Shahzad leads Afghanistan’s post-match revelry•International Cricket Council

At the other end, Porterfield accumulated his runs with more substance than style, and his dismissal – chipping an attacking stroke in the air to a fielder inside the circle – set the tone as, with the pitch slowing up, catches tended to go to fielders in front of square inside the circle.Stirling brought up a 77-ball fifty in the 28th over while Niall O’Brien, bucking the trend of laboured scoring, raced through the twenties with a flurry of boundaries, including a confident swipe over long-on off Nabi. The pair had put on 44 in under 10 overs when a horrible mix-up resulted in Stirling’s dismissal for 55. Niall O’Brien reverse-swept to backward point, Stirling set off for a stop-start single, but then turned and dived for the crease – but by then the ball had been thrown to Mujeeb, who whipped the bails off with the batsman well short.Three overs later, Niall O’Brien drove Zadran low to Shenwari at extra cover, and Ireland were looking a little rudderless at 130 for 4. Simi struggled to get the ball off the square as Afghanistan’s multi-faceted spin attack circled like sharks, but Kevin O’Brien struck three fours and a six in his 41 to help Ireland take 66 off the last 10 overs. Their total of 209 for 7 was modest on paper, and left Afghanistan with plenty to do in these conditions. But having been living on a prayer throughout the Super Sixes, Afghanistan weren’t about to fall at the final hurdle.

Investigation upholds claims of victimisation from former Scotland bowler Majid Haq

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jul-2022The board of Cricket Scotland has resigned on the eve of the publication of a review into institutional racism in the sport in the country.The report, commissioned by SportScotland, is due to be published on Monday, and came in the wake of allegations from the former Scotland bowler, Majid Haq, who did not play again after being sent home from the 2015 World Cup. Haq later claimed he had been victimised on the grounds of race.The report’s findings are expected to uphold Haq’s claims, along with those of his former team-mate Qasim Sheikh, that both men suffered abuse throughout their careers, in a situation similar to the experience of the former Yorkshire cricketer, Azeem Rafiq, who last year told a parliamentary hearing that English cricket was institutionally racist.In their joint resignation letter to interim CEO Gordon Arthur, Cricket Scotland’s board members apologised for the culture that that they had overseen, and acknowledged that the findings of the report would constitute a “watershed moment for Scottish sport and society”.”We are all truly sorry and have apologised publicly to everyone who has experienced racism, or any other form of discrimination, in cricket in Scotland,” the board wrote. “This is, without doubt, the start of another long journey to overhaul and modernise the governance of the sport to ensure its continued success in the years ahead.”The board members acknowledged the “significant support” of SportScotland in their bid to modernise the sport’s governance, but recognised that the “proposed timescales” and “certain mandated actions” for change were not achievable within the existing governance framework.”To deliver a thorough, fair and speedy resolution to the issues raised about racism, and the other [programme] to overhaul and modernise the governance of the sport are individually huge challenges for a small organisation like Cricket Scotland.”Consequently, we believe we must now step aside to enable the required progress to be made in the coming months.”Related

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The board said that it had not yet seen the full contents of the report. However, Aamer Anwar, the lawyer representing Haq and Sheikh, said that its findings were “devastating” and added in an interview with the BBC that he expected the change at the top to be just the start.”Many who have followed in [Haq’s and Sheikh’s] footsteps have complained about a culture of systemic bullying, of racism, of humiliation and there has never been any accountability and transparency,” Anwar said. “What about the selectors, what about some of the umpires, what about the boards on local leagues because it would appear that if you are a person of colour then you face systemic racism.”A spokesperson for Cricket Scotland said: “This has been an exceptionally challenging time for everyone involved in Scottish cricket.”We have been made aware of the board’s decision and as the national agency for sport, we will take immediate steps to provide significant additional governance and leadership support to Cricket Scotland.”

New measures needed to identify and nurture spin-bowling talent, says John Emburey, after failure to compete in Ashes

Daniel Brettig10-Jan-20182:11

England’s torrid history with legspin

Counties and the ECB could address a systemic dearth of spin bowlers by pooling money into a “spin bowling fund”, worth around £3 million over six years, to pay for a coaching and talent identification network that would also fund overseas apprenticeships, under a proposal to be considered by England’s cricket director Andrew Strauss.The proposal is the brainchild of the former England captain and spin bowler John Emburey, who has become increasingly weary of what he sees as a lack of focus by the counties and ECB on developing spin bowlers. That neglect, Emburey believes, led to the vast disparity between England’s spin bowlers Moeen Ali and Mason Crane in the Ashes series, in which they took a combined 6 for 768 while Australia’s spinner Nathan Lyon (21 wickets at 29.23, 2.36 runs per over) was a leading contributor to the home side’s 4-0 victory.Emburey, formerly the Middlesex director of cricket, is set to meet with Strauss following the conclusion of England’s tour of Australia and New Zealand, and told ESPNcricinfo that if the current schedule of county matches being pushed to the fringes of the northern summer continued, then much more needed to be done to nurture young spinners capable of playing the sorts of roles Lyon now does for Australia. He also said that the current England spin coach, Peter Such, had his “hands tied” because he could only work with what the counties produced.”The counties don’t have spin bowling coaches, there’s no talent ID done in those counties for spin, there’s no captains that understand spin, set the right fields and know when to bring one on to bowl or take them off at the right times,” Emburey said. “We need to find a proper structure in finding and developing talent. It’s something I’ve spoken to Andrew Strauss about and he wants to have a meeting about it when we get back home, and Peter Such should be part of that because he’s the England spin bowling coach, to discuss where we go forward.”We’ve got to go down to a younger age group, to the minor counties and the counties themselves, and do more talent ID. All those counties should be pooling their young spinners from the ages of 11-16 to do talent ID. If the counties are not going to employ [coaches], I think the Board has got to employ six to eight coaches to be divided up amongst the 38 counties in England, say five counties each to work with.”With all the money they’re pushing forward for all the other projects they’ve got, the biggest part of the contribution is going to come from the counties themselves, with the Board contributing to make it work. Say we’re going to do it for six years, £3 million over six years, to see what can be developed and come through in terms of those younger players. You’ve got money then to pay for those coaches, and a pool of money also for Peter Such to work with to send some of those players away overseas to play or help to develop them.”Moeen Ali reflects on a dispiriting tour•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Under Emburey’s proposed scheme, each county would put in £10,000 every year, with £5,000 to come from each of the minor counties. The ECB would then add a figure in the region of £200,000 to create a war chest of £480,000 to invest in spin bowling around all 38 counties. Options for overseas education include England Lions tours, while the ECB and CA have already discussed the possibility of opening up spots in the Futures League – essentially the Australian second division – for fledgling English players.”If the counties are not going to develop those spinners then we’ve got to do it by other means. It may be that the Board have to do it and then those players get picked up by the counties,” Emburey said. “If we talent ID players the counties don’t have, but we feel they’ve got sufficient skills relative to some already playing, take those away with the Lions to Sri Lanka or wherever and I’d imagine in a few weeks a county would pick them up if they can see them performing.”Such measures are necessary due to a combination of factors, most of which chart back to the fact that precious little of the first-class county competition is scheduled in the prime summer months of July and August. These months are now subject to a surfeit of limited-overs matches. While similar to Australia’s Big Bash League scheduling, the southern summer tends to afford spin bowlers better opportunities over a longer period, while CA works closely with each state on the composition of pitches.”It’s a shocker for them,” Emburey said of the domestic schedule facing English spin bowlers. “Pitches at the beginning of the season aren’t going to suit spinners, so they’re either going to struggle or they’re not going to play at all, and at the back end of the season when it gets cold and damp and wet, it isn’t going to suit them at the end either.”The middle part of the season and towards the back end when you want spinners to make a contribution, there’s no cricket for them because of all the limited-overs cricket. You’ve got to develop one-day skills instead of those you need in first-class cricket and Test matches. Cricket used to finish on September 17-18, now it is the very end of September, and that’s ridiculous.”I think Peter Such has been hamstrung in what he can do and achieve. All he’s doing is working with the players in a first-class system that doesn’t encourage them to come through. So the system has to be changed to go out and find these players and develop them. These coaches would still be available to help and develop the players already around in county first and second XIs, but I think we’re missing out on so much talent – spinners out there we’re not getting anywhere near.”Somerset is one of few counties using spin bowling to its advantage by preparing surfaces with bare patches on a length. These pitches have been subject to plenty of criticism from opponents, such as these words from the Middlesex director of cricket, Angus Fraser, last year: “It’s disgraceful what they did. I’ve never seen such a doctored pitch. The intent was there, so the combination of a below-average pitch and intent, that changes things. There are guidelines for counties to produce the best possible pitch for matches.”However Emburey argued that in providing an environment in which the spin bowlers Jack Leach and Dom Bess could prosper, while still leaving good grass coverage on other parts of the surface to aid the seam bowlers, Somerset should be seen as “crusaders” for a wider array of skills to be seen in the English game.”I think they’ve been very fortunate with the pitches they’ve had not to be docked points, but are they actually the crusaders for change?” Emburey said. “Why should pitches always be flat? Why not have pitches that spin? Batsmen have got to learn and develop skills against spin as well. Taunton is a pitch where you’ve got to adapt your game to get runs.”The issue Leach and Bess would have after bowling on turning wickets is then having to learn how to bowl on a flat wicket, in terms of changes of pace and flight. [But] the Board have got to relax a bit in this respect. They have the ends bare at Taunton, but there is a bit of grass in the middle to give the seamers some encouragement and the ball to go through. To me they’re good cricket pitches.”As for Crane, Emburey had been impressed by elements of his debut in Sydney, but said there was still a long way for him to travel. “He needs to bowl on all types of pitches to develop his game,” Emburey said. “On a green pitch that’ll seam around, he’ll learn to bowl straighter, and to do that he’s got to bowl with more control. If you’re wide or short or bowl a long hop, you’re going to get spanked around. He needs to learn to bowl on flat wickets to bowl better and tighter, then when you get onto a wicket that gives you assistance, you’re going to bowl sides out.”

Trevor Hohns steps down having served collectively on the selection panel for 21 years

Andrew McGlashan01-Aug-2021George Bailey has been named the new chairman of selectors of the Australia men’s team following the retirement of Trevor Hohns.Bailey, who played 125 times for Australia, joined the panel in 2019 and takes on the top job ahead of selecting squads for the T20 World Cup and the Ashes later this year.Hohns steps down having served collectively on the selection panel for 21 years – 16 as chairman – across two periods from 1991 to 2005 and 2016 to 2021.”Firstly, I would like to thank Trevor for his incredible work which has helped shape the success of Australian cricket over a long period, including during my days as a player and captain,” Bailey said.”In what can be a challenging job Trevor has always been calm, consistent and approachable. Similarly to his journey, he has made my transition from player to selector as smooth as possible. There is a lot I will take from Trevor’s style and very much look forward to the journey ahead.”George Bailey joined the selection panel in 2019•Getty Images

Hohns’ first period as chairman from 1995-2005 involved a period of huge success for the national team which included the 1999 and 2003 World Cup victories plus the record run of 16 Test wins.He stepped down from his first stint after the 2005 Ashes defeat but returned in 2016. The second spell included the dramatic fallout from the Newlands ball-tampering scandal which required the management of the post-ban returns of Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft that happened during the 2019 Ashes were Australia retained the urn in England for the first time in 18 years.”The game has been great to me and I have loved every minute of it, from the good times to the bad,” Hohns said. “I have been extremely fortunate to be involved with some of the greatest Australian teams of all time and many of the best players to have played the game.”The successes of the side over the years have been great but I remember my time just as much for the wonderful people you work with and those you meet along the way. It has been an amazing journey for me, but all things come to an end. I am happy with my decision.”Trevor Hohns’ first period as chairman from 1995-2005 involved a period of huge success•Getty Images

Ben Oliver, Cricket Australia’s head of national teams, paid tribute to Hohns’ service to the game and the qualities of his successor.”The impact Trevor has had on Australian cricket has been unparalleled over a long period of time,” he said. “For someone to have played such an integral part in so many incredible eras is a feat few, if any, ever achieve.”The role of national selector is one of the most scrutinised in Australian sport and Trevor has performed it with great strength, judgement and humility. We will miss his experience but respect his decision to take a step back from the game and are grateful for his stewardship.””George is a highly respected leader who is now well established on the NSP alongside Justin as the head coach,” he added. “He has brought recent playing experience with a deep understanding of the game, an open and collaborative style and a desire to keep improving the selection function.”Oliver also confirmed a third member of the selection panel would be appointed in the coming months.

Wristspinner Ravi Bishnoi receives maiden call-up; batter Deepak Hooda in for the 50-over leg

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2022Rohit Sharma is fit again and will lead India in the home series against West Indies starting February 6. The series comprises three ODIs and three T20Is and will see the return of Kuldeep Yadav as well. The left-arm wristspinner has not played any kind of competitive cricket for the last six months, but India are in dire need of wicket-taking options in the middle overs and he has a record of being just that. On the batting front, Rajasthan’s Deepak Hooda has received a maiden ODI call-up.Among the various issues that came up during India’s 3-0 loss to South Africa was the ineffectiveness of their spinners. R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal and Jayant Yadav were only able to take a combined three wickets in 59 overs, prompting head coach Rahul Dravid to say that middle-overs (11-40) bowling was “an area in the game we have been behind a little bit.”.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

So now, it appears India are going back to a strategy that worked rather well for them between 2017 and 2019 when they deployed Kuldeep in tandem with Chahal and capitalised on the fact that not many batters were capable of picking wristspin out of the bowler’s hand. Recent results – including the poor show at the T20 World Cup – have forced the selectors to look for more x-factor players, which works out well for the 21-year-old wrong’un specialist Ravi Bishnoi. The newly-minted Lucknow Super Giant spinner has broken into the India squad for the first time. He has 24 wickets from 23 matches in the IPL with an average of 25.25 and economy rate of 6.96.

India changes

ODI squad In: Rohit Sharma, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan

Out: Jasprit Bumrah, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishan Kishan, Venkatesh Iyer, Jayant Yadav

T20I squad In: Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar

Out: R Ashwin, Ruturaj Gaikwad

Vice-captain KL Rahul will miss the first ODI but will be available for the rest of the series. Senior fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami have been rested. Bhuvneshwar Kumar only finds a place in the T20I set-up. Washington Sundar, having recovered from Covid-19, takes his place as first-choice fingerspinner, displacing Ashwin. Avesh Khan, who had a stellar IPL season in 2021, features in both squads.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

All those players are at Rohit’s disposal once more now that he has recovered from a hamstring injury that he sustained just days before the Indian team’s departure to South Africa in December. It was an untimely injury for the 34-year-old, who had been appointed full-time white-ball captain and is also the front-runner to succeed Virat Kohli as Test captain. The decision is likely to be taken by the selectors in coordination with the BCCI top brass ahead of the two-match series against Sri Lanka in March.It is understood that Hardik Pandya, who last played for India during the T20 World Cup, is not yet fit enough to play a full role as seam-bowling allrounder. He has said as much to the selectors and is hoping to use the upcoming IPL to see whether his body can handle those workloads again. Hardik was appointed captain of the Ahmedabad IPL franchise which bought him for INR 15 crore (USD 2.02 million approx.)Hooda appears to be the only left-field pick in either squad. While he scored a century in the Vijay Hazare Trophy pre-quarter-finals against Karnataka last month, his overall record in that tournament was a bit underwhelming: 198 runs at an average of 33 while batting in the middle order. He had a better time of it in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s in November, scoring 294 runs in six games at a strike rate of 168. The 26-year-old joined Rajasthan in July 2021 after a troubled few months with Baroda where he was removed from the squad on grounds of indiscipline.Recently the BCCI revised the venues for the West Indies series scheduling the ODI leg in Ahmedabad on February 6, 9 and 11 with the T20s to be played in Kolkata on February 16, 18 and 20.