Laxman prevailed in the standoff, with Sundar retaining his place in the Asian Games squad.
A notable selection tussle has emerged between India's senior team management and the Centre of Excellence (CoE) leadership over all-rounder Washington Sundar.
Since the home ODI series against the West Indies and the 2026 Asian Games overlap, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had to divide its resources.
According to a report in Jagran, head coach Gautam Gambhir and ODI captain Shubman Gill specifically wanted Sundar for the West Indies assignment. Their tactical reasoning was driven by the presence of multiple left-handed batters in the Caribbean lineup, making an off-spinner like Sundar a highly valuable asset.
However, CoE head VVS Laxman, who is overseeing the second squad as head coach for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, reportedly stood firm on keeping Sundar to combat left-handed opponents in rival Asian teams.
Ultimately, Laxman prevailed in the standoff, with Sundar retaining his place in the Asian Games squad and will miss the three-ODI series against the West Indies.
To settle the dispute and balance both teams, the management worked out a compromise. Nitish Kumar Reddy was released from the initial Asian Games contingent to join the senior ODI squad, reinforcing Gambhir's all-round department against the West Indies.
The scarcity of traditional right-arm off-spinners in India's domestic pipeline is a growing concern, specifically when contrasted with the surge of left-arm orthodox options. While young talents like Manav Suthar and Harsh Dubey battle for the same squad positions, finding a classical off-spinner to replicate the flight, drift, and control necessary for long-form cricket has become incredibly difficult.
The India versus West Indies ODI series is slated to begin on September 27. On the other hand, the Men in Blue will kick-off their Asian Games campaign directly in the quarter-finals on September 28.
This scheduling conflict forced the selectors to consider alternatives, with the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Jasprit Bumrah unavailable for selection.
Punjab all-rounder Naman Dhir and Jammu & Kashmir seamer Auqib Nabi earned their maiden ODI call-ups for the West Indies series.
In Iyer’s absence, KL Rahul has been named the vice-captain. This vacancy also opened up a selection door for Ruturaj Gaikwad in the middle-order. Kishan’s unavailability created the window for Dhruv Jurel’s inclusion as a backup wicketkeeper-batter behind Rahul.
India’s squad for West Indies ODIs: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (VC & WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Naman Dhir.
India’s updated squad for the Asian Games: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur, Vipraj Nigam