The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released their separate 18-man squads for the three-match ODI and T20I series against the West Indies, which will begin on February 6 at home. Yuvraj Singh, a former Indian cricketer and World Cup-winning all-rounder, weighed in on the selection announcement.
Yuvraj took to Twitter to express his delight at the inclusion of four players in the squad: Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Deepak Hooda, and Ruturaj Gaikwad.
“It’s great to see @imkuldeep18, @Sundarwashi5, @Deepakhooda54, and ruturaj’s names in the squad; well deserved!” “@BCCI,” he wrote on Twitter.
Nice to see @imkuldeep18 @Sundarwashi5 @Deepakhooda54 and ruturajs name in the squad much deserved ! @BCCI
— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) January 27, 2022
With India’s middle-over problems, as head coach Rahul Dravid mentioned after India’s 3-0 whitewash in South Africa, Kuldeep has been recalled to the ODI squad for the first time since July 2021, when he was selected for the limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka, where he played two matches. This means India will resume their wristpin approach of deploying Kuldeep alonsgide Yuzvendra Chahal in the middle overs, which worked well for them between 2017 and 2019.
Hooda has also been named in the ODI squad, with India looking for balance in the XI following the ODI series against South Africa, where they experimented with Venkatesh Iyer. Although he struggled in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, getting 198 runs at 33 as a middle-order hitter, he shone in the Syed Mushtaq Ali competition, scoring 294 runs at a strike rate of 168.
Ruturaj will be in the ODI team after receiving a call-up from Team India following a strong performance in the IPL over the last two seasons, while Sundar will be making a comeback in both formats after a long layoff due to injury.
