KL Rahul is the only player apart from captain MS Dhoni who has been included from the squad that toured Zimbabwe. India is scheduled to play two T-20 international against West Indies.
Limited-overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead a full strength Indian cricket squad for the two-match Twenty20 series against West Indies to be played in USA on August 27 and 28.
The 14-member Indian team will witness the return of as many as 11 regular players who were rested from the tour to Zimbabwe in May earlier this year. The two matches against the Caribbean side are scheduled to be held on Central Broward Regional Park, Fort Lauderdale. The notable players who will be making their return to the team are vice-captain Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, the pace trio of Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav besides the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra.
All-rounder Stuart Binny also found a place in the squad announced by the BCCI Secretary Ajay Shirke in a press release today. Senior cricketers Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh have been ignored for the series. The trio will be playing in the Duleep Trophy tournament in Greater Noida during that time. While Yuvraj will lead India Red, Raina will captain the Indian Green team in the four-day match domestic tournament.
Interestingly, pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who has been named in India Green team for the Duleep Trophy, has been selected for the US tour, which means he will not play the India Green's first match against India Red from August 23-26.
Apart from Dhoni, the only other player to retain his place from the Zimbabwe tour is batsman KL Rahul. According to sources, the team has been carefully handpicked keeping in mind the Duleep Trophy, which will be played under lights and with pink balls for the first time. "With the seniors and India 'A' teams in US and Australia, the first Duleep Trophy under lights and with pink balls would have needed a bit of star value," a BCCI source said.
Wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha, Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay besides pacer Ishant Sharma, who are currently playing the Test series in West Indies, have been left out and will fly back to India after the conclusion of the fourth and final Test on August 22.
Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K. L. Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Amit Mishra, Stuart Binny.
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