Raina to lead India in Zimbabwe

Suresh Raina will lead a second-string India squad for the ODI tri-series in Zimbabwe and the Twenty20s which follow, with Virat Kohli as his deputy. Among the first-choice players who are either rested or injured are regular captain MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Praveen Kumar.

The selection committee's decision to leave out experienced players provides an opportunity for youngsters to get a taste of international cricket. Those getting a look-in include seamers Pankaj Singh and Ashok Dinda, and Madhya Pradesh wicketkeeper Naman Ojha.

Dinda did reasonably well in the IPL, picking nine wickets in seven games, at an economy rate of 6.56, and Pankaj grabbed the limited opportunities he got with Royal Challengers Bangalore. This is the first call-up for Naman Ojha, whose 377 runs in the IPL was one of the silver linings of Rajasthan Royals' disappointing campaign.

Three Indian spinners who had outstanding IPL campaigns - legspinner Amit Mishra, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha and offspinner R Ashwin - have also been picked. Legspinner Piyush Chawla, who was chosen ahead of all three for the World Twenty20, is not part of the one-day side but will join the squad for the Twenty20s.

The tri-series, also involving Sri Lanka, kicks off in Bulawayo on May 28, with the Twenty20s on June 12th and 13th.

Squad: M Vijay, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suresh Raina (capt), Virat Kohli (vice-capt), Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Pankaj Singh, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Naman Ojha

Note: Piyush Chawla will join the squad for the Twenty20s.