‘No one comes back to form….’ – Irfan Pathan questions Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli’s absence from WI ODI squad

The BCCI selection committee announced a 16-member Team India squad for the forthcoming three-match ODI series versus West Indies, starting on July 22. Shikhar Dhawan has been named the captain of the second-stringed side as regulars skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, and KL Rahul have been rested.

The likes of Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Md Siraj, Axar Patel will get opportunities in regulars’ absence. Ravindra Jadeja has been named the vice-captain for the upcoming series on the Caribbean island. While Rohit, Kohli & the likes are expected to return for the five T20Is, after the ODIs, former Indian all-rounder-turned-commentator Irfan Pathan took to social media to take a dig at the selection policy. The 37-year-old claimed that players won’t return to form with them being rested at regular intervals.

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“No one comes back to form while resting’, said Pathan in a tweet with many fans also questioning the absence of the star players.

Among the rested players, Kohli’s form remains a cause of concern for the national side. He only managed 31 runs in the just-concluded Edgbaston Test whereas Rohit has also been out of action since IPL 2022, where he didn’t even manage a single fifty-plus score. With the T20 World Cup set to be held later this year, from October-November in Australia, India need their big guns to play regularly, regain form and remain fit.

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India squad for WI ODI series

Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (vice-captain), Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohd Siraj, Arshdeep Singh