India Squad for West Indies 2023 Highlights: Pujara dropped, Samson makes in ODI comeback

India's Tour of West Indies: Former Pakistan cricketer's advise to Rohit Sharma

Former Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal shared his views on India's upcoming tour of West Indies and claimed India skipper Rohit Sharma - who has done well in his short stint as India's Test captain - needs to learn from his predecessor Virat Kohli and show a bit more authority on the field. On his Youtube channel, Akmal said, "It's a balanced team. Indian team needs to have a good start. I want Rohit Sharma to do better with captaincy. Show your presence on the ground like Virat Kohli used to do. He has got a chance. (Having said that), Rohit Sharma has done a decent job so far after what went down with the Kohli saga."

India's Tour of West Indies: Did Sarfaraz Khan irk selectors?

It is being reported that Sarfaraz Khan’s gesture of pointing a finger towards the dressing room after scoring a crucial hundred against Delhi in the Ranji season this year was not appreciated. It was perceived as a dig at one of the selectors watching the match. However, Mumbai Cricket has rejected such rumours.

INDvsWI Series: Why Suryakumar Yadav was dropped from Tests

As per an Inside Sport report, a BCCI official claimed that if SKY was for the Test side, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad wouldn't have got the chance. The team management is looking at SKY as a white-ball player for now. “It’s obvious that if Surya was in the squad, he would have played ahead of Ruturaj or Yashasvi. And the team wants to try someone new. But Surya is not out of Test plans yet. He is a very important player with Asia Cup and World Cup coming up so, he must focus on white-ball cricket for now. He will get his chance,” the BCCI official explained.

INDvsWI 2023: Ravi Shastri wants Team India to have left-handed batters

Former India Head Coach Ravi Shastri in his interview with The Week further claimed that the Men in Blue should have at least two left-handed batters in the top-six in the ODIs to have a formidable batting lineup in the World Cup. The former India cricketer believes there are so many options to choose from. "“You need to strike the right balance. Do you think a left-hander will make a difference at the top? It does not have to be opening but in the top three or four. You have to weigh all those options. Ideally, in the top six, I would like to see two left-handers,” he said.

India's Tour of West Indies: Shastri backs Sanju Samson

Ravi Shastri believes Sanju Samson is yet to realise his potential as a cricketer and he would be disappointed if he the wicketkeeper-batter ends his career on a high. “There is Sanju (Samson), who I believe is yet to realise his potential. He is a match-winner. There is something that is missing. I will be disappointed if he does not finish his career all guns blazing. It is like when I was the coach, I would have been disappointed if Rohit Sharma had not played in my side as a regular Test player. Hence, his opening the batting. I feel similar with Sanju," Shastri added.

INDvsWI Test Series: Why Sarfaraz Khan was ignored

As per a PTI report, a BCCI official privy to the developments on condition of anonymity claimed Sarfaraz Khan needs to work on discipline. He added, "The angry reactions are understandable but I can tell you with some degree of certainty that the reason behind Sarfaraz getting ignored time and again is not just cricketing one. There are multiple reasons for which he hasn't been considered."

India's Tour of West Indies 2023 Live Updates: Shubman Gill to be new No.3?

Can Shubman Gill be the new No. 3 batter for Team India should skipper Rohit Sharma decides to give left-handed batter Yashasvi Jaiswal a role of the opener. Gill - who is good at playing the new and old ball - could be asked to bat one-down. The job of a number three batter is more or less the same as an opener because he can literally walk into the middle on the second ball of the innings if the opener departs.

INDvsWI: Who will be No. 3 for Team India in Tests

Team India picked up Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal as openers for the tour of West Indies. Captain Rohit will be the first-choice opener along with Shubman Gill. In such a scenario Jaiswal/Gaikwad could be performing the role of one-down batter.

India Tour of West Indies Live Updates: Gavaskar predicts two future captains for India

Gavaskar - while speaking with India Today - also claimed that Shubman Gill or Axar Patel could have been appointed India vice-captain in the Caribbean. He further stated that the duo have it in them to be future India captains. The legend even named Ishan Kishan. "One is Shubman Gill and the other is Axar Patel [as future captains] because Axar comes in leaps and bounds, he just gets better every match. Giving them the responsibility of vice-captain will make them think. So, these are the two candidates in my view. If there are others, somebody like Ishan Kishan, once he cements his place in the team. He can come in the reckoning as well."

Indian Cricket Team: Sunil Gavaskar unhappy with Rahane as Test vice-captain

Legendary Sunil Gavaskar claimed making Ajinkya Rahane the vice-captain of the Test side will bear no fruit. Instead, the team management should have gone with a young leader and the experience in the Caribbean would have groomed him.

India's Tour of West Indies: Sarfaraz Khan shares his Ranji season stats

Mumbai cricketer Sarfaraz Khan after getting another India snub shared a video of his Ranji Trophy 2022-23 season stats on his Instagram story to remind the selectors of his performance.

Heartbroken Sarfaraz Khan sharing his highlights of Ranji Trophy 2022-23 season on his Instagram. He was ignored by India once again for the Test squad against West Indies 💔

Look at his average. He needs justice 🙏🏼🙏🏼 #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/D2noEvq8ou

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) June 25, 2023

India's Tour of West Indies: Will Hardik Pandya be Test Captain?

Fans have been asking if Hardik Pandya will ever be named India's Test captain. Former India captain and former Head Coach Ravi Shastri has given a brutal response. "His body cannot cope with Test cricket. Let's be very clear about that," Shastri told The Week.

India's Squad for West Indies Test Series: Why Rahane was made Rohit's deputy

According to a report in The Telegraph, regular captain Rohit Sharma's fitness forced the selectors to pick Ajinkya Rahane as the former's deputy. It is just a stop-gap arrangement by the selectors as having a captain from different time zone would also make things easier for the team management in case Rohit gets injured or unfit before the match.

INDvsWI Live Updates: Cheteshwar Pujara shares a video

A day after he was snubbed by selectors, India cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara on Saturday posted a practice video on his social media handle.

🏏 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/TubsOu3Fah

— Cheteshwar Pujara (@cheteshwar1) June 24, 2023

India's Squad for West Indies Tour 2023 Live Updates: Navdeep Saini gets a wonderful surprise upon landing in London

Navdeep Saini - who last played a Test match in 2021 in Brisbane - has received Test call up. The cricketer learnt about his selection soon after he landed in London. He's in the UK for his County stint with Worcestershire. Saini told news daily, The Indian Express, “I came here to play county (cricket), landing today itself, and the moment I got out from the airport, I received the news that I have been selected for the West Indies tour.”

India's Squads for West Indies 2023 Live Updates: Jaffer on Shami being rested

Jaffer also said in his post that he was surprised to see senior pacer Mohd Shami getting rested that too after a month long-break. By the time WI series starts, Indian Test players would have completed a break of almost a month. Hence, there was no need to rest Shami. "I feel he's the type of bowler that the more he bowls the better/fitter and in form he gets," Jaffer opined.

India's Tour of West Indies 2023: Wasim Jaffer questions snub of top Ranji batters

Abhimanyu Easwaran (Bengal) and Priyank Panchal (Gujarat) have been scoring runs in the Ranji Trophy and India A season after season, but the duo didn't get an India call-up for the WI tour.

India's Tour of West Indies 2023: Wasim Jaffer shares his thoughts

Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer shared his two cents on the Indian squad for the West Indies tour and questioned the need for four openers in the Test side. "What's the need for four openers? Instead, they could have picked Sarfaraz as an extra middle-order bat to honour his consistent domestic performances," Jaffer asked.

India's Tour of West Indies 2023: Yashasvi Jaiswal says preparations going well

The talented left-handed batter - who was is in a red-hot form across formats - said interaction with senior players has helped him a lot. "My preparations have been going well and I got to interact a lot with the senior players. The conversation has been very simple – to focus on my work. I learned from them that in the end it is all about you, how you take it going forward,” said Jaiswal.

India's Tour of West Indies 2023: Yashasvi Jaiswal's parents got emotional

Young cricketer Yashasvi Jaiswal reacts after getting his maiden India call-up. The Mumbai all-rounder said his parents started crying after hearing about his selection in the national side. "My father started crying (when he got to know). I have not yet met my mother; I am going to see her in some time. I was out in the morning, had a practice session as well as some other work,” Jaiswal told PTI.

INDvsWI Test Series Live Updates: Abhinav Mukund unhappy with selectors' approach

Former India cricketer Abhinav Mukund has questioned the selection of players and the grounds on which they are being picked. "Unable to understand these selections- too many thoughts in my head to compile into a tweet. But what is the incentive for a young player to take pride in playing for his state anymore? Clearly the franchise route is a faster way to scale the grade," the Tamil Nadu cricketer tweeted.

Unable to understand these selections- too many thoughts in my head to compile into a tweet. But what is the incentive for a young player to take pride in playing for his state anymore? Clearly the franchise route is a faster way to scale the grade. #INDvsWI

— Abhinav Mukund (@mukundabhinav) June 23, 2023

INDvsWI Test Series Live Updates: Abhinav Mukund unhappy with selectors' approach

Former India cricketer Abhinav Mukund has questioned the selection of players and the grounds on which they are being picked. "Unable to understand these selections- too many thoughts in my head to compile into a tweet. But what is the incentive for a young player to take pride in playing for his state anymore? Clearly the franchise route is a faster way to scale the grade," the Tamil Nadu cricketer tweeted.

Unable to understand these selections- too many thoughts in my head to compile into a tweet. But what is the incentive for a young player to take pride in playing for his state anymore? Clearly the franchise route is a faster way to scale the grade. #INDvsWI

— Abhinav Mukund (@mukundabhinav) June 23, 2023

India's Tour of West Indies: Arshdeep will play all formats, says Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar on Sports Today also said that left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh will play a crucial role for India across all formats in the days to come. Gavaskar told Sports Today, "Sometimes maybe being left out of the team is also a great incentive to try and pick up heaps of wickets. Maybe that is what Arshdeep needs to do. He needs to pick 5-fers continuously and then he will be automatically picked for the team. He is the future in all formats. He has already started to do a little bit well in England in county cricket. Just like Jaspreet Bumrah came on as a T20 bowler and went on to spearhead the Indian bowling attack. Arshdeep Singh is somebody who can play all formats of the game and you need to encourage him to do that," Gavaskar said.

India Tour of West Indies 2023 Live Updates: Aakash Chopra demands a reason for Sarfaraz's snub

On his Youtube Channel, Chopra further said that it is the duty of the selectors to explain why Sarfaraz is being constantly ignored from selection and the reason be made public. "This is a question worth asking. If there's some other reason, something which you and I don't know, make it public. Just say it that you didn't like that particular thing about Sarfaraz, and that's why you're not considering him. But we don't know if there's something like that. I don't know if someone told Sarfaraz about that. If you don't value first-class runs, it leaves a sour taste in the mouth," the Delhi cricketer said.

India's Tour of West Indies 2023: Top India batters' average since 2020

Since 2020…Indian batters in Tests (including WTC finals): Rohit - 43.2 in 18 matches Gill - 32.89 in 16 matches KL Rahul - 30.28 in 11 matches Pujara - 29.69 in 28 matches Kohli - 29.69 in 25 matches Rahane - 26.50 in 20 Tests

INDvsWI Test Series: Aakash Chopra questions Sarfaraz Khan's snub

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra on his Youtube channel asked why is the team management ignoring the young Mumbai batter. "What should Sarfaraz do? If you look at his numbers in the past 3 years, he's head and shoulders above the rest. He's scored everywhere. Even then, if he's not selected... what message does it send?" asked a frustrated Chopra.

India pacer Mukesh Kumar is excited and nervous at the same time after getting selected for the Indian team for the upcoming West Indies tour.

Abhinav Mukund baffled by India selection

Abhinav Mukund is baffled by Team India's selection. He has questioned the role of Ranji Trophy in Team India's selection process and asks if franchise cricket is the easier way to earn national team call-up.

Unable to understand these selections- too many thoughts in my head to compile into a tweet. But what is the incentive for a young player to take pride in playing for his state anymore? Clearly the franchise route is a faster way to scale the grade. #INDvsWI

— Abhinav Mukund (@mukundabhinav) June 23, 2023

Mukesh Kumar's selection in both the Test and ODI teams may mean the player will finally make his international debut. He has been in the India setup in the past, but hasn't broken into the team.

Ravi Ashwin congratulates duo

BCCI selectors have picked up Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal for the Test series. Ravichandran Ashwin congratulated the duo after their selection to the team.

So very happy for @ybj_19 & @Ruutu1331 . Well deserved 👏👏 #INDvsWI

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) June 23, 2023