XtraTime Web Desk: After losing the semifinal of the recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup the Men in Blue will tour next in West Indies and there we could see a few fresh faces when MSK Prasad led selection committee will meet on July 19 to pick the teams for the series against Windies which is set to begin on August 3.
It’s almost certain that skipper Virat Kohli & Jasprit Bumrah will be rested from the limited overs series, beside that ace pacer Mohammed Shami & Bhuvneshwar Kumar too get a break for the series.
Former India skipper MS Dhoni too may take a break though there are rumours that he may take international retirement after India’s loss in World Cup. Though either skipper Kohli or the BCCI don’t know anything about his retirement.
For their good performances in the Indian Premier League and in domestic cricketer pacers like Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Navdeep Saini and Avesh Khan could get a chance in the team. Most of these bowlers went to England as India’s net bowling unit during the World Cup.
While talking about the spinners the Mumbai Indians duo of Rahul Chahar & Mayank Markande could also get a chance after their performances in last IPL where Mumbai became the winners. Chahar took 13 wickets in 13 matches and a key factor for Mumbai winning the title. Another spinner who can get a chance in the team is Shreyas Gopal who bagged 20 wickets in 14 matches in IPL for Rajasthan Royals. Beside that he was the only spinner who took both the wickets of Virat Kohli & AB de Villlers in the same innings twice when the two teams faced each other in home and away. The team’s regular spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav & Yuzvendra Chahal may also get a break from this limited overs tour.
In the middle order, India’s rising star Shubman Gill could be given a chance by the selectors after he showed his rich form in IPL as well as domestic circuit. Gill scored 296 runs in 14 matches in IPL and looked solid in the middle when he was sent up the order by the KKR team management.
Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer is another batsman who might be included in Indian middle order which performed poorly in the recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup. Mayank Agarwal is another player who can get a chance as well in the team in Windies. He was added in India’s World Cup squad in the later part of the World Cup after Vijay Shankar got an injury on his foot.
The World No.1 Indian Test team will play two Test matches against Windies starting from August 22, which will be the first match of India’s campaign in World Test Championships. Kohli & Bumrah will return in the test series after their much needed rest.