India announce final 12 for first T20I against Windies

Rohit Sharma will captain India in the first T20I against Windies on Sunday after BCCI announced the starting 12 for the game in Kolkata. Rishabh Pant will be the designated wicketkeeper and KL Rahul looks set to continue as the No.3 in the absence of Virat Kohli.

A release from the BCCI announced the starting 12 for the first T20I against Windies at Eden Gardens, which includes Krunal Pandya, who could well make his international debut. After winning the Test series 2-0 and the ODI series 3-1, India will be looking to complete a trio of series wins against the Windies.

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan look set to continue as the side's openers while KL Rahul should slot in at No.3 in the absence of Virat Kohli. With Rishabh Pant as the designated keeper, the battle for the middle-order spots will depend on the combination of the side for the game at Kolkata.

Manish Pandey and Dinesh Karthik are in the fray while Shreyas Iyer misses out. Krunal Pandya, who also made the squad for the three-match T20I series in England but didn't feature is in the final 12 but it remains to be seen if he can break the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav to make the starting XI.

With the pace trio of Bhuvi, Bumrah and Khaleel being picked, Umesh Yadav misses out while Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Nadeem also fail to make the cut for the game in Kolkata. Khaleel Ahmed is also in the fray on a pace-friendly pitch in Kolkata but that will depend on the composition of the squad and if India decides to go without an all-rounder or not.

Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal