A very exciting opportunity for new guys in limited-overs format: Virat Kohli

India skipper Virat Kohli on Monday said it will be a "very exciting opportunity" for the likes of Chahar brothers and Navdeep Saini to make a mark in the limited-overs format during the upcoming tour of the West Indies.

 

A number of players who are not a regular with the Indian team in either T20Is or ODIs made the limited-overs squads as the selection committee made its intention clear to move forward from India's semi-final ouster from the ICC World Cup and build for the future.

 

"The T20s as you have seen, the squads, when I met the selectors, the basic message from them was to try out a few players that they had in mind. I think it is a very exciting opportunity for all the guys who are stepping in for the first time," Kohli said at the pre-departure press conference. 

 

Deepak and Rahul Chahar, Saini, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey and Washington Sundar are a mixture of new and old faces to have been included in the squad for the limited-overs format.

 

"The ODI side is more or less balanced and we have been really doing well, the Test side, needless to say, the kind of performances we have put in, so I am particularly excited about the three T20s, because as I said new lot of players coming in," Kohli said. 

 

"Some players who have done really well in the format and shown great composure under pressure in tournaments like IPL, domestically as well. So it's a great marker for all those guys and us as a team as well to have them in the squad," the captain added. 

 

India will play three T20s and as many ODIs, and two Test matches during their West Indies tour, commencing on August 3. 

 

"West Indies obviously is a great place to go and play cricket. It is a relaxed place, we all have enjoyed playing cricket there," Kohli said.