MS Dhoni rested for 3 SL ODIs, Virat Kohli named captain Mumbai, October 21 2014 Virat Kohli will lead the Indian team for the first three matches. The BCCI has announced a 15-member team for the first three ODIs against Sri Lanka. Regular captain, MS Dhoni, has been rested with Virat Kohli set to lead the side. Lead pacer, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, has also been rested for the first three matches with Ishant Sharma set to take his place in the playing eleven. Varun Aaron, who wasnt considered for the West Indies ODIs, also makes a comeback. Ravichandran Ashwin, who was rested for the series against West Indies has been named in the squad. But there is no place for the young chinaman bowler, Kuldeep Yadav, who was named for the West Indies series, but didnt get a game. Wriddhiman Saha will keep wickets in Dhonis absence. There are no other major changes to the squad. Akshar Patel, who was included for the final two ODIs against West Indies, retains his place. The board has also announced a 14-man India A squad that will face Sri Lanka on October 30th in a practice match at CCI, Mumbai, before the ODI series. Rohit Sharma, who is currently recovering from a finger injury doesnt find a place in the ODI team but has a chance to impress the selectors after being named in the A team for the practice match. Sri Lanka are a late replacement for West Indies, who pulled out of the tour mid- way, owning to a pay dispute between the players and their association. The BCCI expressed its appreciation at Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) for agreeing to tour India at such a short notice. The BCCI has also clarified that India will return the favour by touring Sri Lanka for a Test series in July-August, 2015. The Members appreciated the gesture of Sri Lankan Cricket Board for having accepted our request to play 5 ODIs starting from 2nd of November 2014, at such a short notice. This tour is in lieu of their scheduled tour to India next year which will be reciprocated by India touring Sri Lanka in months of July/August 2015, BCCIs media release stated. The venues for the 5 ODIs will be Cuttack, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad and the detailed itinerary will be announced shortly, it further stated. Squad for first three ODIs: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Murali Vijay, Varun Aaron and Akshar Patel India A squad for the practice game: Manoj Tiwary (c), Unmukt Chand, Manan Vohra, Karun Nair, Rohit Sharma, Kedar Jadhav, Sanju Samson (wk), Parvez Rasool, Karn Sharma, Stuart Binny, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Manish Pandey and Kuldeep Yadav.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 09:27:45 +0000