The return of big-hitting Suresh Raina along with Ravichandran Ashwin being rested for the first three ODI's against New Zealand, starting on October 16 in Dharamsala, were the main focus of India's team selection.
Apart from Ashwin, the newly-appointed selection committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headed by MSK Prasad also decided to rest all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja — who along with Ashwin were the key components of India's first two Test match victories against the Kiwis. Pacer Mohammed Shami is also rested.
The selection committee chief Prasad said that the trio of Ashwin, Shami and Jadeja was rested keeping in mind the long home season that awaits India, which will see the current No 1 side play 13 Test matches. Among which two matches are already over and India won both handsomely.
Resting Ashwin comes as a surprise after the spinner grabbed 14 wickets in the two Test matches so far against Kiwis, including 10 wickets in the first Test.
"We gave Raina a break during the Zimbabwe tour. But with Jadeja, Ashwin and Shami rested, we needed some experience. Although it's a short term solution. While selecting Raina, apart from his batting experience, we also considered his bowling. He has scored runs in Duleep Trophy," chairman of selectors Prasad said here on Thursday.
Raina, who had been rested from the ODI series against Zimbabwe in June, returns while, seven players who represented India under Dhoni's leadership against Zimbabwe — Mandeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Kedar Jadhav, Dawal Kulkarni, Manish Pandey, Axar Patel and Jayant Yadav — were retained for the first three ODI's.
Mandeep in particular enjoyed a good time with India A during its recent tour of Australia, scoring 198 runs in six matches, including two successive fifties.
Paceman Umesh Yadav was brought back into the team after missing the Zimbabwe tour.
Raina, who was left out of India's ODI squads for the tours of Australia (December-January) and Zimbabwe, also missed the two T20Is against West Indies in the USA recently.
However, the injuries to Shikhar Dhawan and Kl Rahul helped the left-hander get a comeback to thick of things. Also, the 29-year-old ability to be a part-time spin bowler helped his case as well.
Meanwhile, the spin department will be headed by senior leg-spinner Amit Mishra in the company of left-armer Patel and offie Jayant.
The biggest strength for the team lies in the batting department with no less than seven specialist batsmen are present in the star-studded line-up. The prominent names include Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Dhoni among others.
However, the team had no place for left-handed opener Gautam Gambhir. "We definitely discussed Mayank's name, who is in our scheme of things and Gambhir's name was also discussed. But for the sake of continuity, we have groomed Mandeep as an opener. He has played extremely well in Australia against pacers like Kane Richardson. I was present there and was convinced by his performance. It is unfortunate that we would be missing two readymade openers in Kl (Rahul) and Shikhar (Dhawan)," said Prasad.
Moreover, captain Dhoni is the lone wicketkeeper in the side and.
The first match of the series will be held at Dharamsala (October 16), followed by games in Delhi (Oct 20), Mohali (Oct 23), Ranchi (Oct 26), and Visakhapatnam (Oct 29).
Squad
Mahendra Singh Dhoni(Capt), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Jasprit Bumrah, Dhawal Kulkarni, Umesh Yadav, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav.