India bank on youth in Windies ODI series

CUTTACK, India, Nov 28 (AFP): World champions India will count on their young stars to deliver when they take on fast-improving West Indies in a one-day series starting in Cuttack Tuesday. The hosts have rested batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the five-match series, picking instead young batsmen Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane. Kohli scored half-centuries in each innings of the drawn third and final Test in Mumbai last week that helped India clinch the series 2-0. India, with explosive opener Virender Sehwag as stand-in captain, will look to extend their excellent run at the Barabati stadium in Cuttack where they have lost only four of their 14 one-day internationals. Former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar said he was excited by the new-look home team. "We now move our focus to the young batsmen in the team," Vengsarkar wrote in the Times of India. "With Sehwag all set to lead India, the one-dayers should provide for more entertainment, what with the West Indies having gained a lot of positives from the Test series." The man in the spotlight will be newcomer Ravichandran Ashwin, who grabbed 22 wickets with his off-spin in his debut Test series and also scored a century in Mumbai. India: Virender Sehwag (capt), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Parthiv Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma. West Indies: Darren Sammy (capt), Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Anthony Martin, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons.