Raina ignored for Windies Test tour
MUMBAI, India (CMC) — Left-handed opener Suresh Raina has been overlooked for India’s four-Test tour of the Caribbean, starting in July.
The 29-year-old was not among the 17-man squad announced yesterday for the series, the dates of which are yet to be announced by either the Indian Cricket Board or hosts, the West Indies Cricket Board.
In his last Test — his first in nearly three years — against Australia last year January, Raina failed to score in either innings. Overall, he averages 26 from his 18 Tests, with a single hundred.
However, he has been in good form in the Indian Premier League, where he has compiled nearly 400 runs.
Seamer Shardul Thakur is the only uncapped player in the squad, rewarded for this 41 wickets at 24 apiece in the domestic competition.
No room was found for the experienced trio of Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh, who have played 199 Tests among them.
Seamer Mohammed Shami has regained fitness and replaces Varun Aaron.
As expected, Virat Kohli will lead the side and will have Ajinkya Rahane as his new deputy.
While no dates have been announced, the Tests in the upcoming series are expected to be played at the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in Antigua, the Darren Sammy National Stadium in St Lucia, Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and Sabina Park in Jamaica.
SQUAD – Virat Kohli (captain), M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, K L Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Stuart Binny.
