Badri, Saha in Gambhir-led ODI squad for WI

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar were rested and Tamil Nadu batsman S Badrinath and Bengal wicketkeeper Wriddhimaan Saha recalled to India's 16-member ODI squad for the tour of the West Indies.

Karnataka pacer Vinay Kumar also found a berth while Amit Mishra, Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma made a comeback to the squad that will be captained by Gautam Gambhir.

Young Suresh Raina was named his deputy.

Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla and temperamental pacer S Sreesanth, who both featured in India's World Cup-winning squad, were axed.

Dhoni, Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan have been rested for the ODI series and the lone Twenty20 match, but will be available for the Test series.

The tour opens with a Twenty20 match on June 4, followed by five one-dayers, starting June 6.

The three Tests are scheduled from June 20.

"Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan have been rested. They will be available for the Test series," BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said.

Opener Virender Sehwag was not considered for selection as he will be out of action for four to six weeks after undergoing surgery on his shoulder.

Pacer Ashish Nehra was also not considered as he is recovering from a finger injury sustained during the World Cup.

Ambati Rayudu, who is among the leading scorers in the ongoing IPL, failed to get the nod as the selectors preferred to go with the more experienced Badrinath.

Badrinath was rewarded with a berth in the squad following an excellent performance in the IPL and domestic circuit. He had a fantastic Ranji season, scoring a whopping 922 runs at an average of 131, and followed it up with 349 runs in the IPL so far.

"This is the best possible side. I am sure there is good balance in the team and I am confident that they will do well and maintain the winning momentum," said K Srikkanth, chairman of the selection committee.

Pacer Praveen Kumar, who was unlucky to miss the World Cup due to an elbow injury, returns to the side along with Ishant, whose last ODI appearance was against Sri Lanka last August.

Ishant had been struggling for form but seems to have rediscovered some of it in the ongoing IPL, where the 22-year-old is playing for Deccan Chargers.

Rohit last donned national colours in the ODI series against South Africa in January. The 24-year-old, who has displayed good form for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, has played 61 ODIs, scoring 1248 runs at an average of 27.13.

With Dhoni rested, the selectors included two wicketkeepers for the series, in Saha and Parthiv Patel. The 26-year-old Saha played three ODIs, the last of which was against New Zealand in December 2010.

Patel is comparatively more experienced, with 18 ODIs under his belt. He has scored 290 runs at an average of 24.16.

The break for Dhoni also leaves the captaincy in the hands of Gambhir, who is not new to the job, having led the team to a 5-0 rout of New Zealand only last year.

Dhoni had flown, at that time, to South Africa to acclimatise for the Test series that began six days after the last ODI against the Kiwis.

The all-rounder's slot expectedly went to Yusuf Pathan.

The Indian team