Yuvraj dropped; Pandey, Thakur return for ODI series against SL

Struggling batsman Yuvraj Singh was on Sunday dropped from India's limited overs squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka while former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was retained by the selectors.

The selectors made seven changes to the squad and have overlooked Yuvraj after the 35-year-old managed just 109 runs in his last six one-day international innings.

Another player dropped from the squad that went to West Indies is young keeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who has been replaced by KL Rahul, who is also a decent glovesman. Kedar Jadhav can also keep wickets.

Dinesh Karthik, who did a decent job in the West Indies was also dropped since he was picked as Manish Pandey's replacement.

The national selection committee decided to rest all senior bowlers -- pacers Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav along with spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Jasprit Bumrah makes a comeback after much needed rest while rookie Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur has also been included in the side.

The spin department will be relatively young with left- arm spinner Axar Patel and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal to support chinaman Kuldeep Yadav.

Fit again India A captain Pandey has been recalled after leading the side to tri-nation series win in South Africa.

He scored 307 runs in five games and was dismissed only once.

Rahul was also an automatic choice once he is fit. After twin 50s in Tests, there was no debate on his return.

As for Shardul's selection, he is among the reserve pool of fast bowlers whom selectors would ideally like to try out against a weak team like Sri Lanka.

Veteran Suresh Raina remains on stand by as he has not played ODIs since 2015.

The five-match ODI series will begin on Sunday, August 20, at Dambulla.

India's tour of Sri Lanka will conclude with a lone Twenty20 International in Colombo on September 6.

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