Another home series, another dominating performance - that has been the story over the last quarter of 2019 for Team India.
Having taken the T20I series 2-1 and clean swept the two-test series against Bangladesh, the focus now switches to the men from the Caribbean as Virat Kohli’s side host West Indies for three T20Is and as many ODIs before the close of the year.
Three of DC’s biggest stars - Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant were initially named in both limited overs squads.
Unfortunately, Gabbar had to be replaced due to injury. During Delhi's Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 clash against Maharashtra on November 21, attempting a full-stretched dive, a piece of wood resulted in a deep cut through Dhawan’s left knee and it required intensive medical attention.
However, BCCI is optimistic that Dhawan will be back for the ODI series, which stars on December 15.
DC skipper Shreyas Iyer has had a phenomenal year in the shortest format of the game so far. The 24-year-old has scored 1250 runs in 39 T20s this year - the highest amongst Indians and the fifth best overall in the world. He holds an average of 43 in 2019 at an incredible strike-rate of 159.25. And with scores of 71 and 65 in his previous two ODIs, Iyer has put his hand up to be the mainstay in India’s limited overs middle order, and the West Indies series is an excellent opportunity to further cement his spot.
Rishabh Pant has not hit the ground running in the home season for far. He did not have the best of outings against Bangladesh in the T20Is, he got starts in the two Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy games he featured in but failed to convert it into a big score. But the team management has put faith in the youngster, which was reaffirmed by Indian captain Virat Kohli on Thursday (December 5).
"We certainly believe in Rishabh's ability," Kohli said at the pre-match press conference. "When you say it's the player's responsibility to work hard, perform and do all those things, I agree. But I think it's the collective responsibility of everyone around as well to give that player some space to do so as well.”
The opening fixture of the T20I series will take place in Hyderabad on December 6, the second T20I is two days later in Thiruvananthapuram and the final T20I will be played in Mumbai on December 11.
The ODI series kicks off in Chennai on December 15, the second at Visakhapatnam on Wednesday and the series ends on December 22 in Cuttack.
Squads:
India
T20Is: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
ODIs: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Risbhabh Pant (WK), Shivam Dube, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
West Indies
T20I Squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Khary Pierre, Denesh Ramdin, Sherfane Rutherford, Lendl Simmons, Hayden Walsh Jr., Kesrick Williams
ODI squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Shai Hope, Sunil Ambris, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Keemo Paul, Khary Pierre, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh Jr.
Another home series, another dominating performance - that has been the story over the last quarter of 2019 for Team India.
Having taken the T20I series 2-1 and clean swept the two-test series against Bangladesh, the focus now switches to the men from the Caribbean as Virat Kohli’s side host West Indies for three T20Is and as many ODIs before the close of the year.
Three of DC’s biggest stars - Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant were initially named in both limited overs squads.
Unfortunately, Gabbar had to be replaced due to injury. During Delhi's Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 clash against Maharashtra on November 21, attempting a full-stretched dive, a piece of wood resulted in a deep cut through Dhawan’s left knee and it required intensive medical attention.
However, BCCI is optimistic that Dhawan will be back for the ODI series, which stars on December 15.
DC skipper Shreyas Iyer has had a phenomenal year in the shortest format of the game so far. The 24-year-old has scored 1250 runs in 39 T20s this year - the highest amongst Indians and the fifth best overall in the world. He holds an average of 43 in 2019 at an incredible strike-rate of 159.25. And with scores of 71 and 65 in his previous two ODIs, Iyer has put his hand up to be the mainstay in India’s limited overs middle order, and the West Indies series is an excellent opportunity to further cement his spot.
Rishabh Pant has not hit the ground running in the home season for far. He did not have the best of outings against Bangladesh in the T20Is, he got starts in the two Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy games he featured in but failed to convert it into a big score. But the team management has put faith in the youngster, which was reaffirmed by Indian captain Virat Kohli on Thursday (December 5).
"We certainly believe in Rishabh's ability," Kohli said at the pre-match press conference. "When you say it's the player's responsibility to work hard, perform and do all those things, I agree. But I think it's the collective responsibility of everyone around as well to give that player some space to do so as well.”
The opening fixture of the T20I series will take place in Hyderabad on December 6, the second T20I is two days later in Thiruvananthapuram and the final T20I will be played in Mumbai on December 11.
The ODI series kicks off in Chennai on December 15, the second at Visakhapatnam on Wednesday and the series ends on December 22 in Cuttack.
Squads:
India
T20Is: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
ODIs: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Risbhabh Pant (WK), Shivam Dube, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
West Indies
T20I Squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Khary Pierre, Denesh Ramdin, Sherfane Rutherford, Lendl Simmons, Hayden Walsh Jr., Kesrick Williams
ODI squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Shai Hope, Sunil Ambris, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Keemo Paul, Khary Pierre, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh Jr.
