India welcome in new era ahead of West Indies series

Ajit Wadekar historically led a first Test series win in the Caribbean Islands in 1971, but for India this summer, the tour of the West Indies represents a fresh start.

Experience has been retained, but there is most certainly a nod to the future.

Following the disappointment of a World Cup semi-final exit at the hands of New Zealand, there is an over-arching sense of new beginnings despite Virat Kohli remaining as the leader across all three formats.

India play the first of three T20 Internationals on Saturday, live on Sky Sports, with three ODIs and two Tests to follow in the Caribbean.

There are plenty of new faces with Rahul Chahar, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey and Navdeep Saini included in the squad for the limited-overs, while rookies Deepak Chahar and Washington Sundar have been recalled.

Dinesh Karthik has been left out of the squad for the month-long tour after a disappointing summer in England, while MS Dhoni has made himself unavailable.

Dhoni is embarking on a two-month break from the sport that has hardly helped remove speculation over his possible international retirement.

The 38-year-old is serving time as an Honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment of the Territorial Army.

Dhoni's loss is Rishabh Pant's gain as he is expected to keep wicket across all three formats, while Wriddhiman Saha will provide cover.

With the World T20 next year scheduled in Australia, this summer's tour is the first of many bilateral three-match T20 series, and the BCCI selectors must decide if preparations for that tournament should cater for Dhoni's return from his sabbatical.

After suffering a surprise World Cup semi-final exit at the hands of the Kiwis, India have decided to rest Hardik Pandya for the entire tour, but they are boosted by the return of Shikhar Dhawan from a thumb injury. India will, however, be without Jasprit Bumrah, who has been rested for the ODIs and T20 series.

Can India fix middle-order problem?

It is a conundrum that head coach Ravi Shastri will hope to solve over the coming six limited-overs games: who should bat at No 4?

Since the 2015 World Cup, India have tried 12 players in the slot, including the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Vijay Shankar and Ambati Rayudu.

All-rounder Shankar remains out as he continues to recover from a toe injury that ruled him out for the majority of the World Cup, while Dhoni's self-imposed absence means greater reliance on Pant.

With the better sides exploiting the lack of depth in the batting unit, the absence of Pandya and Dhoni turns the spotlight on Pandey and Iyer following stellar India A performances.

India will hope KL Rahul, as the established name, produces greater consistency, and the same sort of form that saw him hit 111 against Sri Lanka at Headingley.

Calm before the Gayle?

India are not the only side looking ahead to the T20 World Cup next year.

The hosts will be without veteran opener Chris Gayle for the T20 series due to T20 commitments in Canada - but he has performed a U-turn on his plans to retire from ODI cricket.

Gayle has been named alongside left-handed opener John Campbell, Roston Chase and all-rounder Keemo Paul as part of the 14-man squad for the ODI series that starts on August 8.

When Gayle returns to the fold, he will look to surpass batting legend Brian Lara's record of ODI runs for West Indies, with his total of 10,393 just 13 shy of the great man's tally.

Having finished only ahead of Afghanistan in the 10-team round-robin World Cup, West Indies have dropped Sunil Ambris, Darren Bravo, Shannon Gabriel and Ashley Nurse from the matches against India.

Interim West Indies head coach Floyd Reifer said: "We have a mixture of some experienced and young ODI players. It is good to have Keemo, John and Roston back, and they will help to bring further balance to the team.

"Looking ahead to the series, I think we have a lot to build upon following the World Cup. We have retained a large number of players from the World Cup squad, so there is a lot to build on and I am looking forward to the series."

Can Narine make up for lost time?

Intrigue abounds with the inclusion of Sunil Narine for the first two T20Is.

Narine last played in the format for West Indies against England almost two years ago at Chester-le-Street, but the T20 specialist joins Kieron Pollard for the two games in Florida.

Having missed out on the World Cup squad due to suffering a torn ligament in his right middle finger, Narine has been handed the opportunity to prove to selectors that he has an international career still ahead of him.

"We felt that players like Narine and Pollard, who have played well in T20 leagues around the World, once they are fit and mentally ready to play, we must give them the opportunity to represent the West Indies again," said interim chairman of the CWI Selection Panel, Robert Haynes.

West Indies T20I squad: John Campbell, Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicolas Pooran, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Carlos Brathwaite (captain), Keemo Paul, Sunil Narine, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Anthony Bramble, Jason Mohammed, Khary Pierre

India T20I squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini

Watch the first T20I between West Indies and India, live on Sky Sports The Ashes (red button), from 3.25pm on Saturday.