Ashwin set to miss the West Indies series, Rohit Sharma to lead from the front

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Rohit Sharma is all set to lead India during the West Indies tour, Ravichandran Ashwin not part of the squad

BCCI revealed that the veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will not be part of the white-ball series squad against West Indies following a treatment he is undergoing.

The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) revealed that the veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who has earned his position in all formats of the game, will not be part of the white-ball series squad against West Indies starting from February 9 following a treatment he is undergoing.

The tour was composed of six matches – three ODIs and as many Twenty20 Internationals against Keiron Pollard’s led-side – was originally scheduled to take place on Tuesday itself (January 25) but the dates had been pushed a little due to the unavailability of coach Rahul Dravid and a couple of selectors, who have just recently traveled for almost 24 hours to reach India after the completion of the South Africa tour. The selection committee is expected to take place in the next two days.

It is understood that Ashwin’s recent recall into the white-ball teams (since the Twenty20 World Cup in October-November, 2021), is a long-term strategy, done considering in mind the 2022 Twenty20 WC and the 2023 ODI WC. Also, his inclusion in the squad was a collective call from the skipper Rohit Sharma, the Head Coach Rahul Dravid along with the selectors who understood the need of the hour in the veteran spinner.

The upper management has kept the thing in mind to wisely manage his workload during the series so he may not miss the major coming events. Although his absence in the West Indies tour is just because of the treatment he is going through for 3 weeks, he is expected to come back in February-March for the Sri Lanka series.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma is handed the ropes of India in the ODI and T20 series. BCCI has confirmed on their website that the hit-man has fully recovered to lead the side. It would be his first assignment as a full-time ODI skipper after he missed out on the South Africa tour following an injury.

The side would not be the same in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya. Jadeja was seen practicing normally at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore but his selection will depend on the fitness report from the NCA physios. Pandya is undergoing the recovering process but is not fully fit.

Most of the other regulars are available for the series including the likes of skipper Virat Kohli who, it is learned, has not been ready to get any sort of rest for the series. But the selectors have decided to give A category players some rest in the place of a couple of new faces. The leading pacer Jasprit Bumrah could be the one to be given rest alongside his new-ball partner, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who may not be a part of the ODI squad.

The ODIs will be played in Ahmedabad on February 6, 9, and 11, and the T20Is will be in Kolkata, on February 16, 18, and 20.

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