India’s predicted playing XI for ODI series against West Indies

The West Indies will be hosting India in a three-match One Day International series starting July 22. The Men in Blue will be led by Shikhar Dhawan and one of the main focuses will be to test the bench strength as a few key players, including the likes of Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, have been rested.

Meanwhile, star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will be the vice-captain in the series. Regular captain Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the One Day series, will be back to lead for five T20Is. The T20I series could also mark the return of vice-captain KL Rahul who has been out of action for over a month due to a groin injury.

As India look forward to maintaining consistency in the 50-overs format, here’s a look at their predicted XI for the West Indies series.

Openers: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Ishan Kishan (wk)

Shikhar Dhawan has been made the stand-in captain for this series and he has an additional responsibility of looking after his own form apart from leading the team. Dhawan has not managed to create an impression in the ongoing ODI series against England. In the first game, it took him 54 balls to score an unbeaten 31. He could only manage nine in the second game where India went down by 100 runs. The southpaw is eyeing the 2023 World Cup and therefore, he would be hoping to keep scoring on a consistent basis at the earliest.

Ishan Kishan’s form has been up and down in the last few months. While he has been one of India’s T20I specialists in the last one year, the youngster has succeeded in creating a little bit of an impression in the three ODIs that he has played so far, scoring 88 runs at a strike rate of 107.31, including a half-century. This series could present the wicketkeeper-batter with a chance of cementing his place in the ODI squad.

Middle Order: Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer

Deepak Hooda might have only scored 55 runs in the two ODIs that he has played so far, but since the last one month, the Rohtak cricketer has been in the form of his life, having scored 151 runs in the two T20Is against Ireland and then a vital 17-ball 33 in the first T20I against England, which India won by 50 runs. Kohli’s comeback into the playing XI thereafter meant that Hooda warmed the bench.

Shreyas Iyer struggled against short balls in the rescheduled fifth Test match against England and did not get many chances in the white-ball series, barring the third T20I where he scored 28. In the 27 ODI appearances that he has made since December 2017, Iyer has 947 runs at an average of 41.17 and a strike rate of 96.04, including one century and nine half-centuries. Therefore, the upcoming series would be very crucial for him to cement his place in the Indian ODI side.

Suryakumar Yadav has been India’s best limited-overs specialist batter this year. Even though he was bogged down by a couple of injuries in the last few months, it has not affected his batting by any means. Yadav is known to bring out his best during pressure situations which was evident during the third T20I where he scored a 55-ball 117 and helped India post 198 chasing a mammoth 216. The Mumbai cricketer single-handedly took control of the chase after the Men in Blue were in a precarious situation at 31/3. The middle-order sensation scored 27 in the second ODI at Lord’s.

All-Rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur

Ravindra Jadeja will be the vice-captain for the upcoming One Day series. The star all-rounder has been a saviour for India both with the bat and ball on so many occasions in the last few years. The Saurashtra cricketer had scored a match-winning unbeaten 46 in the second T20I against England. However, Jadeja has not been able to make an impression in the wickets column after his comeback on the England tour.

Shardul Thakur had a forgettable Edgbaston Test both with the bat and ball. Nonetheless, India would be hoping that the bowling all-rounder manages to regain his mojo in the West Indies series. Apart from providing handy breakthroughs with the ball in hand, he is also capable of hitting big shots lower down the order.

Bowlers: Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj

Yuzvendra Chahal has been showcasing consistent performances ever since his Purple Cap-winning brilliance for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2022. The wrist-spinner was the pick of the bowlers for India in the second ODI against England at Lord’s, finishing with figures of 4/47 from his 10 overs.

Prasidh Krishna picked up only two wickets in the first two One Dayers against England and he would be hoping to make the ball do the talking against West Indies. It is to be noted that the tall pacer was adjudged the Player of the Series in the home series against the same opposition earlier this year. In that home bilateral series, Krishna had registered his best ODI bowling figures of 4/12.

Arshdeep Singh is yet to make his ODI debut. The left-arm pacer created a good first impression in the first T20I against England where he was handed over his maiden India cap, finishing with match-winning bowling figures of 2/18 from his 3.3 overs at an economy of 5.14.

Ever since he made his ODI debut in 2019, Mohammed Siraj has only been able to play four matches, taking five wickets at an economy rate of 4.69, with his best bowling figures being 3/29 against the West Indies during the home series earlier this year. The Hyderabad pacer would be hoping to contribute with the ball in hand in the Caribbean.