(Eds: adding more information)New Delhi, Oct 14 (PTI) On a day when they slogged it outin the Ranji Trophy with contrasting results, RavichandranAshwin and Ravindra Jadeja were ignored by the nationalselectors for the third time in a row as they continued withthe younger crop for the ODI series against New Zealand.
While MSK Prasad had initially said that the seniorbowlers were rested during the limited overs series againstSri Lanka, but bypassing them for the Australia and now NewZealand leg is an indication that they are slowly falling offthe radar as far as limited overs cricket is concerned.
With Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahalhaving done fairly well in the past three series, it is nowdifficult to bring back both Ashwin and Jadeja for New Zealandone dayers.
India have already started with their preparation for the2019 World Cup in right earnest.
Jadeja may feel hard done by as he was once again ignoredon a day when he smashed 150 for Saurashtra in the RanjiTrophy game against Jammu and Kashmir.
Ashwin had a slightly tougher day as he bowled 24 oversfor 60 runs taking just a wicket in return against the weakestteam in the competition -- Tripura.
Teams like Australia and New Zealand are vulnerableagainst wrist spinners as Kuldeep and Chahal had shown againstthe Aussies and Karn Sharma against the Black Caps' A side,which had a lot of senior internationals.
Among the other changes, Shikhar Dhawan has predictablymade a comeback after a brief sabbatical to attend familyissues with KL Rahul making way for him.
Dinesh Karthik's presence will mean that there will besome pressure on Manish Pandey as Kedar Jadhav, with his off-breaks, brings more variety to the side.
Karthik, who last played for India during the West Indiestour in July and was also a part of the Champions Trophysquad, has been picked again.
The 32-year-old was named in the India T20 squad for therecently-concluded Australia series but did not get a game.
Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav also have been dropped asthey played only one match during the Australia series.
Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been identifiedas the new ball bowlers in shorter format with Shardul Thakurbeing called for some consistent performances for India A.
The squad:Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain),Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav,Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel,Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, BhuvneshwarKumar and Shardul Thakur. PTI BS KHS PM CMCM.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.