India vs West Indies 1st ODI Squad: India’s Predicted Playing XI for first ODI vs West Indies

India vs West Indies 1st ODI Squad: The Sportsrush present before you India’s Predicted Playing XI for first ODI against West Indies.

Despite a successful campaign in the recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, India will have a few things on the back of their minds when they take field to play the first ODI after the showpiece event. In what will be the first of the three ODIs against West Indies, it will commence India’s planning for the next World Cup.

Having won the T20I series 3-0 last night, India’s preparations will be bolstered by the the momentum which they will be bringing into the 50-over series.

Under the leadership of Virat Kohli, India will play with a near full strength squad at the Province Stadium in Guyana tomorrow. Among the prominent players who are missing from this squad are wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni, all-rounder Hardik Pandya and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.

India vs West Indies 1st ODI Squad

Top-order

Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan’s at the top of the order leaves India with a couple of options – a) play Lokesh Rahul at No. 4 and b) keep him as a reserve opener and don’t play him at all. When it comes to the ODIs, Rahul’s 23-match career has never let him settle at one batting position.

In 22 innings, Rahul has opened the batting 13 times. On the remaining nine occasions, Rahul has batted from No. 3 to No. 6 in the lineup. While Rahul can bat at No. 4, his average of 17.33 and strike rate of 60.46 at No. 4 isn’t very impressive.

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Furthermore, wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has shown glimpses of doing well at No. 4. If Rahul returns back to No. 4, another batsman will become a victim of not getting enough chances at No. 4. If will be like a continuation of a long-lasting problem in the Indian ODI team.

For the betterment of the team, playing Rahul as the reserve batsman seems to be the best option going forward. Other than Dhawan, vice-captain Rohit Sharma and captain Virat Kohli will complete a formidable top-order.

Middle-order

Coming on the back of a match-winning second T20I half-century yesterday, all Pant needs to take care of is his temperament. Other than the same, the southpaw looks to have it to solve India’s issues with the No. 4 position in the batting lineup.

While Shreyas Iyer is better suited to play at No. 4 than No. 5, the aforementioned Pant-related reason applies here as well. Therefore, expect Iyer to bat at No. 5 tomorrow. With Manish Pandey getting to play the three T20Is (for mediocre returns), Iyer deserves to get to play for India after nearly 18 months in Guyana.

All-rounder Kedar Jadhav getting selected for this tour had received mixed reactions from the Indian fans. In what is a right decision made by the Indian selectors, the 34-year old cricketer now needs to prove the selectors right with similar performances which have kept him in the team since 2016.

Albeit in a losing cause, Jadeja’s 11th ODI half-century in the semi-final of the World Cup last month should earn him the promotion at No. 7. In Hardik Pandya’s absence, expect Jadeja to play the role of the finisher.

Bowlers

In Bumrah’s absence, both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami will lead the Indian bowling attack. The third fast bowler’s spot will be a tough decision between Khaleel Ahmed and uncapped Navdeep Saini. While the former will offer variety in the name of a left-arm fast bowler, the latter will provide outright pace to the Indian attack – something which he put on display in the T20I series.

Another conundrum in the bowling department is regarding the second spinner’s position. When Jadeja played during the World Cup, it came at the expense of chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav missing out. Going by the numbers, it appears the same will happen tomorrow as well.

In 15 ODIs this year, Chahal has picked 28 wickets at an average of 27.96, an economy rate of 5.80 and a strike rate of 28.9. On the contrary, Yadav has dismissed 26 batsmen in 18 ODIs at an average of 34, an economy rate of 5.32 and a strike rate of 38.3 this year.

India’s Predicted Playing XI for first ODI: 1) Rohit Sharma 2) Shikhar Dhawan 3) Virat Kohli (c) 4) Rishabh Pant (wk) 5) Shreyas Iyer 6) Kedar Jadhav 7) Ravindra Jadeja 8) Bhuvneshwar Kumar 9) Mohammed Shami 10) Yuzvendra Chahal 11) Khaleel Ahmed