* Selectors pick young side for limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe under Dhoni * Mumbai's Takur gets maiden Test call-up
Mumbai medium-pacer Shardul Thakur has been rewarded for his consistent show in Ranji Trophy by being named in the 17-member India squad for the four-Test tour of the West Indies in July-August. Thakur is the only new face in the Virat Kohli-led Test side.
The national selection committee meeting convened by new secretary Ajay Shirke at the BCCI headquarters here on Monday also named a 16-member "young side" for three ODIs and T20 Internationals each in Zimbabwe from June 11 to 22. It will be led by MS Dhoni, with impetus given to "variation in bowling department".
The selectors have also handed maiden limited-overs call-ups to Vidarbha opener Faiz Fazal, Haryana spin-twins Jayant Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, Punjab's Mandeep Singh and Karnataka's prolific batsmen Karun Nair and KL Rahul, though the last two have been in the Test set up.
Rahul has also been asked by the selectors to "give enough importance and concentrate on his wicketkeeping alongside his batting".
'Decision to pick young side'
Big names like Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin are missing from the limited-overs squad for Zimbabwe.
Chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil said: "It was a decision of the selection committee to pick a young side for the Zimbabwe tour". In other words, none of these players have been dropped or injured.
Also missing from the squad are Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh who, for their experience, were recalled into the Indian team for their last international assignment, the ICC World T20. However, Patil clarified that it did not mean the end of the international careers for the trio.
"The selectors have no right to tell any player when to retire. We selected the players (Harbhajan and Yuvraj) for the T20 World Cup. Now, we are looking at the future of Indian cricket but that doesn't mean that these names will not be considered," Patel said.
He added that Nehra has been ruled out for the Zimbabwe tour as per the fitness report submitted by Indian team physio Patrick Farhart.
"Nehra is ruled out because he is undergoing surgery for his hamstring injury. Murali Vijay is not fit for Zimbabwe tour with a niggle. And Virat Kohli, though he is playing in the IPL, needs complete rest after the IPL tournament," Patil said.
By keading the young team to Zimbabwe, Dhoni, retired from Tests, has dismissed speculations on whether he will continue playing international cricket after the World T20 semifinal exit and also the premature end to his IPL team Rising Pune Supergiants campaign. Also, he did not want to miss out on this international assignment as India will be playing only two ODI series in the near future, against New Zealand and England in October 2016 and January 2017, respectively.
"Dhoni has retired from the longer format and we selectors felt that this is the best opportunity for youngsters to have someone like Dhoni, who has ample experience. Dhoni himself was very keen to tour with the youngsters, so I think it is a very good sign and a good help for the youngsters," Patil said.
Around the same time last year, the top players opted out of the Zimbabwe tour for three ODIs and two T20Is with Rahane leading a mixture of young and experienced side.
IPL over country? Not quite
Another point of discussion was about Kohli, who has been going through a purple patch for Royal Challengers Bangalore with 919 runs in 14 games, batting with a split webbing in the last couple of matches.
While questions were raised of him continuing to play with the injury for RCB and sitting out of national duty, Patil said "the report that we have got from Patrick Farhart says that he needs rest after IPL for his injury."
Shirke clarified that it was not the case of Kohli picking IPL franchise above the country.
"Let us not look things that way please. He is one of our top players. If there is a medical report in the middle of a tournament and he has been given a certain medical advice, let us not turn everything upside down. Let's not give it an angle that he is ready to play in the IPL and not for India. I must clarify because doubts may arise," Shirke said.
One youngster who missed out for his current form is Mumbai's Shreyas Iyer, who amassed 1,321 and 809 in 2015-16 and 2014-15 Ranji Trophy seasons, respectively.
SQUADS:
For Zimbabwe (3 ODIs, 3 T20Is, June 11-22): MS Dhoni (C), KL Rahul, Faiz Fazal, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, Ambati Rayudu, Rishi Dhawan, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Barinder Sran, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Jayadev Unadkat and Yuzvendra Chahal
For West Indies (4 Tests, July-August): Virat Kohli (C), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Md Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur and Stuart Binny
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