MUMBAI: India have drop­ped veteran batsman Yuvraj Singh from the upco­ming limited-overs series against Sri Lanka as the national selectors opted for youngsters in the 15-man squad.

Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jad­eja along with pace spearhead Mohammed Shami were rested from the five One-day Internationals and the one-off Twenty20 International starting next week.

Former captain and wicket-keeper/batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni retained his place in the side that witnessed seven changes from their tour of the West Indies in June-July.

The 35-year-old Yuvraj, who scored only 57 runs in three ODIs against West Indies, is fast losing favour as the team’s middle order mainstay.

The flamboyant left-handed all-rounder, who is a two-time World Cup winner, has represented India in 304 ODIs since making his debut against Kenya in 2000 but has been struggling for form.

Batsman Manish Pandey, who recently led India ‘A’ to a tri-series triumph in South Africa where he scored 307 runs, returned to the team along with Test opener Lokesh Rahul.

Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma, who has been named the vice-captain, returned to the squad after being rested for the West Indies series.

Rookie spinners Axar Patel, who was added in the Test squad as cover for suspended Jadeja, and Yuzvendra Chahal made the cut.

Jasprit Bumrah and uncapped Shardul Thakur will bolster the pace attack along with the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The visitors, who are in firm command of the ongoing third and final Test after taking an unassailable 2-0 lead, will play their first ODI on Aug 20.

Squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma (vice captain), Lokesh Rahul, Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane, Kedar Jadhav, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2017