Dhawal, Mohit in squad for Windies ODIs; Ishant, Vinay dropped

The Indian selectors finally lost patience with the under-performing pace duo Ishant Sharma and R Vinay Kumar and ignored them for the upcoming three-match One Day International series against the West Indies.

Mumbai's Dhawal Kulkarni and Haryana pacer Mohit Sharma were included at their expense for the series, which starts in Kochi on November 21.

Ishant faced a lot of flak after a poor performance against Australia in the Mohali ODI, when James Faulkner smashed him for 30 runs in the 48th over.

Vinay Kumar fared no better with the ball and was hit for 102 runs in nine overs in the seventh and final ODI against Australia.

Overall, Ishant had a poor series, giving away 189 runs in three matches, at an economy rate of 7.87, while Vinay gave away 345 runs in five, at 7.93.

Medium pacer Kulkarni, 24, was called up to the Indian team for the New Zealand tour in 2009 but did not get a single game. He has an impressive record in first class cricket, having claimed 180 wickets in 57 games, at an average of 27.23, while picking 58 wickets in 40 matches.

Mohit was picked for the Zimbabwe tour earlier this year, when India sent a second-string side. He claimed three wickets in two games, at an average of 17, but failed to retain his place for the Australia ODIs. 

The selectors, however, retained the experienced Yuvraj Singh, who fared poorly in the ODI series against Australia, scoring just 19 runs in four innings.

Ravindra Jadeja, who missed the two-Test series against the West Indies because of a shoulder injury, made a comeback to the team.

India won the ODI series against Australia 3-2 after two matches were rained out.

The three matches against the West Indies will be played in Kochi, Vishakapatnam (November 24), and Kanpur (November 27).

Team: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ambati Rayudu, Amit Mishra, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohit Sharma.

Image: Dhawal Kulkarni

Photograph: Bikash Mohapatra/ Rediff.com