Gautam Gambhir leads India in Caribbean one-day series
Last updated on .From the section Cricket
Gautam Gambhir has been handed a second opportunity to captain India with Mahendra Dhoni rested for the five one-day internationals and single Twenty20 in West Indies in June.
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gambhir, who hit 97 in the World Cup final, leads a team missing several players through injury and squad rotation.
Veteran batsman Sachin Tendulkar and seamer Zaheer Khan are also rested with the tour to England following in July.
Parthiv Patel will keep wicket.
Dhoni, Tendulkar and Zaheer will all return for the Tests in the Caribbean but opener Virender Sehwag is unlikely to have completed rehabilitation from shoulder surgery in time for that series and seamer Ashish Nehra is also injured.
Gambhir, a consistent opening batsman across all three formats, successfully led India during the home series against New Zealand late last year, registering a 5-0 success.
With Suresh Raina being handed the vice-captaincy, fringe players coming in include batsman Subramaniam Badrinath, seam bowler Vinay Kumar and back-up wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.
Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla and pace bowler Sreesanth, who were members of the World Cup-winning squad, have been left out.
Meanwhile, new coach Duncan Fletcher has given his first interview since accepting the role.
The 62-year-old former England coach said: "There will not be any major changes. I will make my observations after being physically with the Indian team and then perhaps I can make some changes if necessary.
"I am in a place where one cannot have a dictatorial role."
India squad for one-day series in West Indies: Gautam Gambhir (capt), Suresh Raina (vice-capt), Parthiv Patel (wk), Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Subramaniam Badrinath, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Vinay Kumar, Yusuf Pathan, Amit Mishra, Wriddhiman Saha.
