(Cricket news) India have announced their 17 man squad that will take on England in 3 ODIs. The matches will be played at the Oval, Lord's and Old Trafford respectively. India whitewashed West Indies in their last ODI series and they come into this series in good form. England convincingly whitewashed Netherlands and are on fire in the whiteball format. There has been a change as long term whiteball captain Eoin Morgan has retired with Jos Buttler set to lead the side for the first time in the ODI format for the India series. The series will be an important step in the preparation for the World Cup next year. 

India's ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh

India have chosen a full strength squad as expected. Apart from a few players who are injured this should pretty much be the squad for the World Cup even though there is a long time left for it. KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar and Kuldeep Yadav who were part of the last squad miss out because of injuries. Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Hooda, Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh Khan have been dropped. Gaikwad didn't get to play a single game but is presumably dropped for inconsistent performances in the T20I format.

Deepak Hooda being dropped is likely to do with the return of Hardik Pandya and the conditions. Playing a batting all-rounder who bowls spin doesn't really make sense in English conditions especially when Ravindra Jadeja is in the side. The reason to drop Ravi Bishnoi will also be the same as Yuzvendra Chahal is the established wrist spinner. It is surprising that the selectors have chosen not to keep a direct replacement for Chahal in the squad. Avesh Khan is clearly dropped because of the return of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami even though he didn't get a single game to prove himself. 

Arshdeep Singh gets his maiden ODI call-up which is a little unexpected because he has been dropped from the T20I squad. His selection might have to do with the fact that he is the only left arm seamer available. Ishan Kishan was a late COVID-19 replacement in the ODI series against West Indies but his impressive T20I form has earned him a place in the ODI format which was always going to happen eventually. Hardik Pandya's return to the squad was imminent as he has shown good quality since his return to cricket. 

Pandya's importance to the ODI squad is immense and his presence is something India has been missing. Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja were injured during the West Indies series but they have been called back immediately as expected. Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are back in the ODI squad. Bumrah was a part of the South Africa series and was later rested for the West Indies series. Shami on the other hand hasn't played an ODI game since 2020 against Australia. 

Also read: Doubts over Rohit Sharma's availability as India take on England