Windies vs India, 1st ODI: India Predicted XI

Ahead of the first ODI match against the Windies on Friday, Virat Kohli’s plan would ideally be to put to rest all the off-field controversies regarding Anil Kumble’s exit, test the bench-strength and look to strengthen the batting line-up that was exposed in the finals of the Champions Trophy. In order to build a core side for the long terms plans of the World Cup 2019.

The last time the Indian team toured the Caribbean Islands for the Test series, things were very different. Anil Kumble’s journey as the Head coach started but within a year, the team is back without its coach. Though Kohli and co. insist that they don’t take any opposition lightly, they couldn’t have asked for a more convenient opposition than the West Indies to start fresh after the Champions Trophy, which even struggled against minnows Afghanistan.

A 5-0 whitewash is something that is expected against a side that has a cumulative ODI experience of 213 matches between 13 players with skipper Holder as the most-capped player with 58 matches to his name. Compare it to a whopping 776 matches collectively between Yuvraj Singh (301), MS Dhoni (291) and Virat Kohli (184), the stark contrast between the two sides is so very distinct.

If Kohli really is looking for long term plans, he must be willing to try out other options, be it the bowling or the middle order. The bowling unit should be focused on more because, despite sparks of brilliance, the numbers for our bowlers were dismal except for Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Also, there is a need for spinners that can perform in overseas conditions in limited overs and Ashwin and Jadeja don’t really fit into the role if we go by their figures. If he goes in with the following combination, he will also not face the problem of the lack of bowlers during the middle overs which were problematic in the Champions Trophy.

Openers (Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane)

Shikhar Dhawan has been in top form since his return to the squad and the fact that he was the highest run-getter in the Champions Trophy this year too, is a warrant of that. There should be no second thoughts on his position, especially because the games he plays now will secure his berth before KL Rahul returns from his injury.

While Rohit Sharma has been rested to makes sure he is not strained after the Champions Trophy and before Team India head to other nations for tours, Kohli made it clear in the press conference that he will go in with Ajinkya Rahane as the second opener for all the 5 matches. Though Rahane has looked out of touch lately, this will be his chance to stamp authority.

Ideally, it should have been Rishabh Pant at the top of the order as a prospect for the future as well. Though Pant can also do justice to the No. 4 spot too, most successful teams now prefer a destructive opener. Pant’s inclusion would have given him time to be groomed, more so because MS Dhoni is in the side to guide a younger wicketkeeper-batsman.

Middle order (Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni)

Absolutely no reason why Kohli would not play or captain the side in this game or the series if the side is looking to play every game as a preparation for the World Cup. Kohli will be hoping to take his form from the Champions Trophy forward and learn from the mistakes made in it.

Whether the team should be looking at Yuvraj Singh as a prospect for the World Cup where he will be 37 years old, is a question that needs to be addressed, as Rahul Dravid and Ajit Agarkar stressed recently. However, considering Kohli’s focus on reputation rather than other aspects could well see Yuvraj in the series, leaving out Dinesh Karthik yet again, who has been in prolific form lately.

Though Dhoni’s strike rate has gone down since 2014, he still fits the role because of his wicket-keeping, and invaluable inputs that Kohli still needs as captain. Ideally, he should be batting at No. 4 where he has found relatively better results, but you can’t really ask Dhoni to ask for that if he knows there is someone who can do better in that role.

All-rounders (Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya)

While Jadhav is someone who takes a few balls to get into the groove in order to ‘finish’ the match, Pandya is a clean hitter from the very first ball. While the latter is handy on most occasions, it can often result in an early dismissal if the batsman is following the aerial route. However, there should not be a debate about the position of the all-rounders when Kedar Jadhav has contributed either with the ball or the bat. But he may have to make way for Jadeja if Kohli’s still not on the same page as everyone else.

We saw Pandya’s mettle with the willow when he was on the verge of producing something extraordinary in the Champions Trophy finals while the entire batting order fell apart. If he wants to do justice to the all-rounder tag, Pandya needs to focus on his bowling so that the skipper can justify giving him the entire 10 overs quota.

Bowlers (Ravichandran Ashwin/Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja/Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami)

The biggest take away from the entire Champions Trophy for the team should be the need to have a spinner who is difficult to read and can strive even on flat pitches and be economical. Kuldeep Yadav is yet to be tested widely overseas but if leg-spinners are now a regular feature in every modern cricket side, India’s ‘chinaman’ can replicate what Rashid Khan did to the West Indies against much more threatening sides as well. Dharamshala Test. Enough said.

But because Kohli is not looking at things differently, and the pitch looks like it will assist spinners, he may well go in with the Ash-Jadeja pair, despite their ordinary numbers in ODIs. In fact, he may play with both of them and leave out one of the pacers, most likely Umesh.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is finally getting the recognition he deserves, in the limited overs format. He was the leading wicket-taker for India in the Champions Trophy and has impressed with the accuracy and economy on pitches where other Indian bowlers were being taken to the cleaners.

Umesh Yadav has improvised so much lately that it must have been a tough call for Kohli to leave him out in the Champions Trophy after one game. Shami had shown some serious destruction in the warm-up game against Bangladesh but was left out of the actual games, mostly because Bumrah got the upper hand because of his abilities at death and because of the senior’s absence in the ODI format since long. However, the pacer will probably get his first official ODI since the 2015 World Cup semi-final.