Fit Rohit ready to lead, Ashwin set to miss vs Windies

NEW DELHI: India's white-ball captain Rohit Sharma has fully recovered from his injury and is ready to lead the side in the upcoming ODI and T20I series against the West Indies, starting February 6 in Ahmedabad.

It would be the first series for Rohit as the full-time ODI skipper after he was ruled out of the South Africa tour because of a hamstring injury.

"He (Rohit) has recovered fully and is ready to lead," BCCI sources confirmed the development.

The selection for the six matches -- three ODIs and as many T20Is against Kieron Pollard led side -- was expected to take place on Tuesday itself but it was postponed due to the unavailability of coach Rahul Dravid and a couple of selectors, who have travelled for almost 24 hours to reach India from South Africa.

The selection committee meeting, led by chief selector Chetan Sharma, may now take place in the next two days.

Meanwhile, R Ashwin is unavailable for selection for the whole series against the West Indies.

The veteran off-spinner who made his comeback to the ODI fold in the recently concluded tour of South Africa, is undergoing treatment and will miss all six matches of the upcoming series, a Cricbuzz report said.

The report also mentioned that the Indian think tank has decided to manage Ashwin's workload in regular intervals so that he is not missed for the major tournaments. In his absence, Washington Sundar, who missed the series against Proteas due to Covid-19, can be picked for West Indies ODIs.

However, there is still uncertainty about Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya. Jadeja was recently seen bowling and batting normally at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore but his selection will depend on the fitness report from the NCA physios. And it is learnt that Pandya is still not fully fit.

Other regular members are apparently available for selection and that also includes former skipper Virat Kohli who, it is learnt, has not sought any rest for the series until now.

However, the selectors, as part of their workload management policy, may leave out some key players by drafting in a few new faces. Spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is likely to be given rest but his new-ball partner Bhuvneshwar Kumar may struggle to make it to the ODI squad considering his ordinary outing in South Africa.

The ODIs will be played in Ahmedabad on February 6, 9 and 11 and the T20Is will be in Kolkata, on February 16, 18, and 20. IANS

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