Indo-Asian News Service
Mumbai, May 23: Star batsman Suresh Raina was dropped from the Indian cricket squads announced here Monday for the limited overs tour to Zimbabwe in June and the four-match Test tour to the West Indies in July-August.
Both the teams will witness the inclusion of fresh faces in Vidarbha opener Faiz Fazal, Karnataka batsman Karun Nair, Punjab batsman Mandeep Singh and Haryana spin duo of Jayant Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal for the Zimbabwe tour.
An impressive performance in the Ranji Trophy earned Mumbai seamer Shardul Thakur a call-up for the West Indies Test tour. The selection committee retained Mahendra Singh Dhoni as skipper for the Zimbabwe limited-overs tour starting June 11, while star batsman Virat Kohli will lead the side for the four-match Test series against the West Indies.
Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey will aim to cement his place in the middle order which comprises Ambati Rayudu, Dhoni and Lokesh Rahul. Maharastra stumper Kedar Jadhav is the reserve keeper while the bowling unit will be led by promising pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Barinder Sran. Dhawal Kulkarni, Rishi Dhawan and Jaidev Unadkat are the other pacers in the side while the spin department includes left-arm spinner Axar Patel, Jayant and Chahal.
On the other hand, the Kohli-led Test squad will have Mumbai batter Ajinkya Rahane as his deputy. Rahul, who found himself in both the teams, is the reserve opening and wicket-keeping option for the Test squad with Bengal’s Wriddhiman Saha the first choice stumper.
The bowling unit will be led by seasoned Ishant Sharma which will see the return of Mohammed Shami. Veterans Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh were ignored for both the tours.
The squads (Zimbabwe tour): Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain & wk), Lokesh Rahul, Faiz Fazal, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, Ambati Rayudu, Rishi Dhawan, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Barinder Sran, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal.
The Test squad (West Indies tour): Virat Kohli (captain), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Stuart Binny.
