West Indies Tour 2011: Indian Team Announced By BCCI
Starting November 6th, India will host West Indies for a three Test-match series. To read about the Indian squad and series updates, please click here.
India have won the only T20 match and One Day Series, played as part of the West Indies tour. To read the entire tour summary and know who the Star performers were, please follow this link.
Latest Update as on 27th May 2011: Yuvraj Singh is the latest casualty in a long list of senior players due to miss the entire tour of the West Indies. Yuvraj has a respiratory infection. Gautam Gambhir had earlier been ruled out of the tour. There are talks that Suresh Raina would captain the ODI team.
Meanwhile, the test squad has also been announced. The big news is that Sachin Tendulkar is not on it, as he has expressed a wish to spend time with his family. Pujara is the surprise exclusion from the team which is as follows:
MS Dhoni (Captain), VVS Laxman (Vice-Captain), M Vijay, Abhinav Mukund, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel.
Latest Update as on 26th May 2011: Gautam Gambhir may be out of the Indian team that will tour West Indies. Andrew Leipus, who is the trainer for KKR team in IPL 4, has advised rest for a period of 6 weeks. In IPL, Gambhir plays for KKR and aggravated a shoulder injury acquired during the World Cup final.
The BCCI is yet to take a decision on who would replace him for the tour. In Gambhir’s absense, it has been suggested that Suresh Raina should captain the Indian team. With Yuvraj part of the ODI team touring West Indies, this is surely a controversial decision for BCCI.
Gautam Gambhir will be India’s Captain for the limited overs edition scheduled as part of the West Indies tour. Starting 4th June, there will be one T20 match and four ODI’s to be played between the two teams. Many senior players from the World Cup winning squad had formally requested BCCI to give them a break and have opted out of the tour. Sehwag, who is currently undergoing a shoulder surgery may not even make it for the England tour which follows this tournament.
The 16-member squad selected by BCCI is listed below:
Gautam Gambhir (captain), Parthiv Patel (wk),Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, S Badrinath, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Vinay Kumar, Yusuf Pathan, Amit Mishra, Wriddhiman Saha (wk).
Apart from Sehwag who is nursing an injured shoulder, the seniors being rested are, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Zaheer Khan.
Last year, when Gambhir was the captain, India beat New Zealand 5-0; Indian selectors believe he has the right temperament and leadership skills to lead India.
While choosing the team, selectors have clearly given preference to Ranji Trophy performance and not bothered too much about IPL. S Badrinath and Rohit Sharma were the top run getters in Ranji Trophy whereas the IPL stars like Ambati Rayadu and Rahul Sharma have been sidelined.
Other surprise inclusions are stand-by wicket keeper Wriddhiman Saha and Amit Mishra.
Talking on behalf of the selectors, Kris Srikkanth commented – “I am confident that we will do well and win the series in the West Indies. The team is well balanced; Everything is on merit. It’s a great opportunity for a lot of players. On tours, we always take two wicketkeepers. It’s a 16-member team and in case of a wicketkeeper getting injured, you have to understand the logistics of getting a replacement to the West Indies are complicated.”
The first ODI will be played at Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. If you plan to travel to Port of Spain, during India’s tour, this restaurant review of an Indian restaurant in Port of Spain might interest you.
Category: Cricket, West Indies Tour
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I am thinking why IPL players were not given chance. There were so many good performers and they should have been considered. Why is Yuvi not captain? I think India will loose this series!
paul valthaty is best player for indian team