India Should Use West Indies Win as an Opportunity to Take Stock

The West Indies win should be seen and treated as an opportunity to know everything there’s to know about reserves.

India wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies 3-1. (Photo: AP)

India wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies 3-1. We knew it would happen.
Kohli scored yet another ODI ton in a successful chase. Everybody knew it was only a matter of time before the chase master produced another master class.

Shami returned to the fold with a four-wicket haul in the last ODI. He was out of ODI action because of an injury and not for the lack of form. His coming back in style shouldn’t raise eyebrows either.

Rahane made the ODI series his own with three 50s and a century. Perhaps, he has now settled the debate with regard to who should be India’s third opener once Rohit is back.

Also Read: Virat’s Record Ton & Karthik’s Fifty Guide India to WI Series Win

Or has he? Will KL Rahul be groomed for the middle-order role or will Rahane, once again, be expected to remodel his game to suit the new demands? Rahane is suited to open in ODI cricket.

Hardik Pandya has started bowling his full quota of 10 overs regularly and that will be a big boost for the Indian team going ahead. Kohli’s preference to play only five bowlers, including Pandya, puts a lot of emphasis on the bowler. Pandya’s bowling has been both economical and incisive. Finally, something we didn’t about know in detail.

Kuldeep was handed the ODI debut and he’s made an immediate mark. He’s been picking wickets throughout and in fact, he made us wonder if he should have been in the playing XI during the Champions Trophy too. Another positive.

A series against the current West Indies should be seen and treated as an opportunity to know everything there’s to know about reserves. The cumulative ODI experience of the entire West Indian team was lesser than that of Yuvraj and Dhoni alone.

Since India lost one game, some might argue that even that experience wasn’t enough to win every single game and therefore, it was prudent to pick and play the strongest possible side. The other side of the same argument is that if India had played a second string side, it would have lost, maybe, a game more – but even that wouldn’t have made a huge difference to the team’s fortunes. It is preposterous to assume that India would have lost the series if Chahal, Pant, Basil and Samson had played – that means underestimating the younger brigade and overestimating West Indies.

Even if that was the case, it is better to lose a series and know your wards than to lose an opportunity to know them. But whose responsibility was it to give everyone a go – the captain or the selectors?

Before championing anyone’s cause, allow me to share a story. Not too long ago, the national selectors told the captain that a ‘legend’ was a surplus and they didn’t want him in the playing XI.

The captain was also on the same page, but requested the selectors to take a call themselves instead of making him do the dirty work. He was right. If the selectors wanted to pull the trigger, it was only fair that they hold the gun too. In the end, the player was selected and the captain dutifully played him in the XI. While every team selection adopts a fair bit of consensus and reflects a shared vision, in the end, it is the selectors’ call.

If the selectors wanted to try out a few youngsters in the series against the West Indies, they should have rested some of the senior guys to accommodate them.

In theory, you can always do what Kohli did with Kuldeep (he played every game and Jadeja-Ashwin were rotated), but to expect the same for Rishabh Pant is ambitious. Since Jadeja-Ashwin play all three formats, it was relatively easier for them to be rotated, but anyone playing only the ODI would deem it as being unfair if they were asked to rest.

India has two full years to prepare for the World Cup 2019 and MSK Prasad, the chairman of National Selection Committee, has hinted that youngsters will be given chances leading up to the big event. The ODI leg of the tour to Sri Lanka will be when the wise men will have to walk the talk.