IND vs WI: Door's Not Closed for Umesh, Pujara; Rinku Singh Likely for WI T20Is - Report

Team India’s squad for the West Indies, especially the Test side, has led to huge debates in the Indian cricket fraternity. Team India will take off for the Caribbean for a month-long tour which comprises 2 Tests, 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is. While the squad for the Tests and the ODIs were out on Friday, the team for the T20Is are yet to be announced.

The BCCI on Friday announced a 16-man squad for the 2-match Test series, starting July 12 in Dominica. While the selectors handed maiden call-ups to the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad and recalled Navdeep Saini, senior players like Cheteshwar Pujara, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami were left out.

Several media reports have stated that Pujara and Umesh were axed following their below-par performance in the recently-concluded World Test Championship (WTC) final, which India lost by 209 runs. On the other hand, Shami has been rested to manage his workload.

But now, a report carried by the Times of India has stated that the doors aren’t closed for Umesh and Pujara. Instead, Umesh has been rested due to a ‘hamstring injury’.

“Umesh is suffering from a hamstring injury and is recovering at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore,” the TOI quoted a source as saying.

Meanwhile, Pujara has been left out as the selectors wanted to try out the youngsters, the report stated.

“If Ajinkya Rahane can be made the vice-captain of the Test side after being out for 15 months before the WTC final, anyone can make a comeback. The doors aren’t closed on any senior player. It’s just that you need to start transitioning somewhere. The selectors don’t want a situation where all the seniors quit the scene in one go and we don’t have anyone experienced left in the dressing room,” the source was quoted as saying.

Rinku in line for WI T20Is

The report further stated that Kolkata Knight Riders’ star batter Rinku Singh is in line for getting his maiden T20I call-up. The Aligarh batter scored 474 runs in 14 games at a staggering strike rate of 149.52 and his efforts are likely to pay off.