By India Today Sports Desk: Team India baffled and surprised quite a few when they rested captain Rohit Sharma and former captain Virat Kohli for the 2nd ODI of a 3-match series against the West Indies. In a bid to identify potential backups for World Cuppers, India took the bold call but it backfired as the Hardik Pandya-led side West Indies comfortably chased a 182-run target with 6 wickets in hand on Saturday in Barbados.
India came up with a series of experiments. They continued to open with Ishan Kishan. They brought Sanju Samson back and gave him the No. 3 spot. They made Axar Patel bat at No. 3, making him the 8th new batter to occupy the position since the start of 2022. They made promoted Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja and got Suryakumar Yadav, who has been struggling in ODIs, to bat at No. 6.
Barring the Ishan Kishan move, none of the experiments worked as India were bundled out for a paltry total of 181.
EXPERIMENTS TO CONTINUE?
As India traveled to Trinidad for the 3rd and final ODI of the series, plenty of questions would have clouded captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid’s minds.
“Honestly, in a series like this, with only 2-3 matches to go for Asia Cup, playing Rohit and Virat would not have given us too many answers,” head coach Dravid said after the 2nd ODi, stressing on the need to identify potential World Cuppers.
“We will always look at the bigger picture,” he added.
However, with most of the players not taking their opportunities, India will be wondering whether to continue the experimentation. However, India are facing the risk of losing a bilateral series to the West Indies in 2002, having stitched a 12-series winning streak in ODIs.
PREDICTED XIs, WI v IND, 3rd ODI
IND: Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (Captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar.
WI: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Alick Athanaze, Shai Hope (captain and wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Keacy Carty, Romario Shepherd, Yannic Cariah, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales.
If India are indeed looking at the big picture, it looks likely that India might continue to give opportunities to the potential backup options. However, it remains to be seen if they would be tempted to bring back Rohit and Kohli.
If India bring back Rohit and Kohli, the likes of Sanju Samson and Axar Patel, who have got only one opportunity so far in the series, might have to make way. Giving a break to Ishan Kishan, who has played all 4 matches including the 2 Tests, might be an option that the team might take.
It also remains to be seen if Yuzvendra Chahal, the only spinner who has not got an opportunity in the ODIs so far, will get a chance in the final ODI.
On the other hand, the West Indies will not look to tinker with the winning combination as they eye a rare series win against India.
