Rishabh to debut Khaleel to wait

Rishabh Pant is in line to make his One-day international (ODI) debut as India announced their team for the first ODI against Windies at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday.

According to the team sheet tweeted by the official BCCI handle, Pant will play as a specialist batsman with MS Dhoni taking his customary role behind the stumps. However, there was no such luck for young fast bowler Khaleel Ahmed, who was named as the 12th man with India going in with two specialist seamers and three spinners

The 12 players shortlisted are – Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Syed Khaleel Ahmed.

Pant could make his ODI debut for India, following his stellar batting performances in the just-concluded Test series against the Caribbean side. He scored 184 runs in two innings at an average of 92 in the longest format, missing out on centuries in the two Test matches at Rajkot and Hyderabad.

However, the swashbuckling batsman will be looking to hone up his keeping skills, after a slew of dropped catches and midfields in the Test series.

Opener KL Rahul and experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik did not found their places in the 12-man squad. Also, Hardik Pandya found no mention in the list as he is recovering from a back injury sustained during Asia Cup tournament last month.

The Men in Blue had thumped the West Indies comprehensively in the Test series, winning 2-0 and would be looking to continue its momentum in the limited overs format.

The two teams will play five ODIs, with the first game commencing from October 21, in Guwahati, followed by three Twenty-20 Internationals (T20Is).