Virender Sehwag was named captain of the Indian team for the five-match One-day International series against the West Indies starting on November 29 after Mahendra Singh Dhoni opted for a break ahead of a long Australian summer.
Senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar was also rested, while the selectors, who met in Mumbai on Friday, left out Yuvraj Singh and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh due to poor fitness and form, respectively.
According to a selector, Dhoni has been given a break “as he needs to be fresh” for the three-month-long Australia tour. The decision means Sehwag, who last led India in a one-dayer in 2009, will be back at the helm.
The move comes as a mild surprise since it was his opening partner Gautam Gambhir who was seen as Dhoni’s successor in the long run. The Delhi left-hander had even been appointed as captain of a new-look Indian team for the ODI series in the Caribbean earlier this year before he pulled out due to a shoulder injury.
According to a selector, the committee opted for Sehwag as he had been Dhoni’s long-time deputy.
Meanwhile, Yuvraj was omitted due to the recurrence of a lung infection that had seen him skipping the Caribbean tour as well. Harbhajan’s name, it is learnt, was not even discussed during the meeting.
Medium pacers Praveen Kumar and R Vinay Kumar made an expected return to the ODI fold to complete a four-man seam attack along with Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron. In the spin department, however, Pragyan Ojha was ignored despite a strong performance in the ongoing Test series. Leg-spinner Rahul Sharma retained his place, but seamers Sreenath Aravind and Abhimanyu Mitthun were left out.
The selection committee meets again on Saturday to pick the squad for the four-Test series against Australia.
ODI Squad against West Indies:
Virender Sehwag (Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, and Rahul Sharma
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