Gambhir to lead India in Windies ODI series

Reuters) - Opener Gautam Gambhir will lead a second-string Indian side in the limited-over series in West Indies next month after the selectors rested regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and a few other senior players on Friday.

“Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan have been rested. They will be available for the test series,” Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary N. Srinivasan said in a statement after the selection committee meeting in Chennai.

The June 4-July 10 series, featuring one Twenty20 and five one-day internationals followed by three tests, will be Duncan Fletcher’s first assignment as new India coach.

Dhoni’s absence gives 29-year-old Gambhir another crack at the captaincy, having led India to a 5-0 win over New Zealand in a one-day series last year.

India will also be without opener Virender Sehwag, who is set to undergo shoulder surgery in England that renders him doubtful for the entire series.

Dhoni’s absence facilitated Parthiv Patel’s inclusion, while the 16-member squad also has a second wicketkeeper in Wriddhiman Saha.

In the bowling department, Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma will fill the void left by the absence of Zaheer and his new ball partner Ashish Nehra, who sat out last month’s World Cup final victory with a finger injury.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was selected ahead of leg-spinner Piyush Chawla to join Harbhajan Singh in the slow bowling attack, which also includes Amit Mishra.

Squad: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Suresh Raina (vice-captain), Parthiv Patel (wicketkeeper), Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Subramaniam Badrinath, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Vinay Kumar, Yusuf Pathan, Amit Mishra and Wriddhiman Saha.