India vs West Indies: With Rohit Sharma back in the mix, Men in Blue seek return to winning ways – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

India will hope to bury the disappointment of the South African tour when they take on West Indies in a three-match ODI series starting Sunday.

The Indian team flew back from Johannesburg on the back of a 3-0 sweep at the hands of the Temba Bavuma-led Proteas following an incredible come-from-behind 2-1 Test series win. And the sub-par on-field performances were complemented by the constant off-field drama, with Virat Kohli resigning as the Test captain midway through the tour amid reports of a fallout between him and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly. The Indians were expected to conquer the ‘Final Frontier’ and dominate a South African side going through a transition; instead, it turned out to be one of their more forgettable tours.

It has been a turbulent few months for Indian cricket with the Kohli vs BCCI saga, the disappointing T20 World Cup campaign followed by the South African tour. The one-day series against the West Indies thus serves as an opportunity for the ‘Men in Blue’ to rectify their mistakes and bring a smile back on the faces of their supporters.

The biggest positive for the Indians will be Rohit Sharma’s return to the mix after missing out on the South African trip due to a hamstring problem. Rohit enjoyed a terrific run with the bat in the England tour and barring a couple of low scores against Pakistan and New Zealand, largely had a positive outing in an otherwise disappointing T20 World Cup campaign. In the T20I series against New Zealand, his first series as full-time leader, Rohit led from the front with scores of 48, 55 and 56, finishing as the top run-scorer in the series.

Rohit will not only hope to get India off to solid starts in the upcoming limited-overs fixtures against Kieron Pollard’s men, but his solid leadership skills could very well turn out to be just what the team needs at one of its lowest points in recent memory. Rohit, after all, has led Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles and the Indian team to an Asia Cup and Nidahas Trophy triumph. And the BCCI will hope Rohit is able to forge the same working relationship with Rahul Dravid — whose reign as the head coach hasn’t quite got off to an ideal start — as Kohli did with Dravid’s predecessor Ravi Shastri.

As for his opening partner, Shikhar Dhawan would have likely continued in his role at the top of the order had it not been for the little setback that the team suffered in the build-up to the series. Three members of the India squad, viz. Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer, and net bowler Navdeep Saini tested positive for COVID-19. The BCCI added Mayank Agarwal into the squad as cover, but he’ll be in mandatory quarantine by the time the series begins. And with Rahul now being looked at as a middle-order option in limited-overs, that leaves Kishan as the only option for Rohit’s opening partner.

“Ishan Kishan is the only option we have and he will open with me. Mayank was added in the squad and he is still in isolation. He came (joined) late and we have some rules in place. If someone is travelling, we have to put them in (mandatory 3-day) quarantine. He has still not finished his quarantine, so Ishan will open the innings,” Rohit told reporters on the eve of the first ODI.

The other area of concern going into the series is the spin department. Ravichandran Ashwin wasn’t quite as penetrative in the one-day series in South Africa, and will have fallen down the pecking order as far as India’s white-ball planning for the two big tournaments down the road is concerned. Instead, the Chetan Sharma-led selection panel opted to hand Kuldeep Yadav another lifeline, leading to a buzz on social media surrounding the possible return of the ‘KulCha’ combination — left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep along with leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal — that was India’s go-to option in ODIs and T20Is not too long ago.

Offie Washington Sundar could be included in the side to bring some variety into the mix as well as for his handy batting skills that could bolster the lower middle order, though he is in direct competition with Deepak Hooda, another returnee to the squad. Youngster Ravi Bishnoi, who’s yet to make his senior India debut, could be thrown into the deep end sometime later in the series.

Though the West Indies arrived in India in a positive frame of mind after beating England in a five-match T20I series, their defeat to Ireland at home the last time they played the 50-over format will be on their minds when they take on Rohit Sharma and Co come Sunday. And their record against the Indians in ODIs in the recent years hasn’t been all that great either — they’ve won just three out of 18 matches since 2015, the most recent of which was the eight-wicket win in Chennai in December, 2019.

One of the main talking points in the West Indies camp ahead of the one-day series is the return of senior pacer Kemar Roach, a veteran of 92 one-dayers whose last appearance in the 50-over format was against the Indians in the home series right after the 2019 World Cup. A first-choice seamer in Tests, Roach will hope to make use of this opportunity to try and sneak into West Indies’ World Cup plans. The spotlight will also be on Jason Holder, whose four wickets in as many balls in the decider helped seal a memorable series win against England, and will make him a threat in the eyes of the Indian batters.

In the batting department, Shamarh Brooks and Nicholas Pooran finished the leading run-scorers for their side in the Ireland ODIs and the England T20Is. respectively, and will be expected to play a key role in helping the Windies set challenging totals or in chasing targets.

What is also worth noting is Odean Smith’s contributions with the bat. The Jamaican all-rounder contributed with 84 runs against Ireland in his debut one-day series, his strike rate for the series reading 227.02, his 19-ball 46 in the second game proof of his ability to take the attack to the opposition late in the innings which can sometimes be the difference between victory and defeat.

The one-day series are part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League in which West Indies and India currently sit at seventh and eighth respectively, the Men in Maroon ahead by a point (50) though they have also played three games more than the Indians.

Additionally, the matches, all of which take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, will be played without fans due to the current COVID situation, a real shame considering that the first ODI is also India’s 1000th appearance in the format, the occasion of which would’ve been marked by festivities under normal circumstances.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Mayank Agarwal

West Indies: Kieron Pollard (c), Fabian Allen, Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran, Kemar Roach, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Hayden Walsh Jr

Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium Ahmedabad.

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