No Ishan Kishan, No 'KulCha' Combo: Ex-India Star Opener Predicts India XI For 1st ODI Against West Indies

27.07.2023 - 02:57 sports.ndtv.com

After winning the Test series against West Indies, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team gets down to action in the first of the three ODIs from Thursday.

The ODI squad bears a distinct look with the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umran Malik, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya coming in.

With the World Cup in a few months' time, the ODI series against the West Indies is part of that preparatory process. Ahead of the first ODI, former India opener Wasim Jaffer gave his take on what the pplaying XI for India.

While he went with Sanju Samson as the wicketkeeper, while going for Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav as the spinners.

cricket India Cricket Team West Indies Cricket Team 2023 Ricky Ponting Rohit Sharma Sachin Tendulkar Ishan Kishan Kuldeep Yadav Yuzvendra Chahal Sanju Samson Wasim Jaffer India

India went on an experimentation spree in the limited overs series against the West Indies but not much came out of it except Tilak Varma emerging as a contender for a World Cup middle-order slot on the back of his exploits in the T20 series. Ahead of the Asia Cup and subsequent World Cup, India were looking for options in the middle-order in the ODI series but the number four slot remains up for grabs.

"With The Result...": Kuldeep Yadav Reveals Indian Cricket Team's Reaction After Shock T20I Series Defeat Against West Indies

India spinner Kuldeep Yadav has reacted to the team's shocking loss against West Indies in the T20I series on Sunday. The Hardik Pandya-led side lost the fifth and deciding T20I against West Indies by 8 wickets in Lauderhill, Florida. The momentum was with India as they had won the third and fourth T20I to make a comeback in the series after trailing 0-2. The final game, however, was dominated by Windies as they barely gave India any chance. The series defeat was a shock for the young Indian side as they were strong favourites at the start.

Suryakumar Yadav Back To Best As India Keep T20I Series Alive With Seven-Wicket Win Against West Indies

Suryakumar Yadav was back to his disdainful best as India stayed alive in the series with a seven-wicket win over the West Indies in the third T20I here on Tuesday. West Indies skipper Rovman Powell's whirlwind 40 not out off 19 balls pushed the hosts to 159 for five after Kuldeep Yadav (3/28) stemmed the flow of runs in the middle overs. Debutant Yashavi Jaiswal (1) and Shubman Gill (6) got out cheaply in run chase before Suryakumar came up with a special 83 off 44 balls to help India gun down the target in 17.5 overs. Tilak Varma (49 not out off 37) was happy to play second fiddle to his senior Mumbai Indians teammate in their 87-run stand. Tilak missed his second straight fifty in his debut series as skipper Hardik Pandya (20 not out off 15) hit the winning six.

Hardik Pandya Slammed Over 'Baffling' Yuzvendra Chahal Decision In 2nd T20I Against West Indies

It was yet another disappointing day for Team India as they lost the second T20I against West Indies by two wickets on Sunday. With this loss, the Hardik Pandya-led side has gone down 0-2 in the five-match series. Opting to bat first, Team India posted a total of 152/7 with Tilak Varma scoring a half-century. Later, West Indies comfortably chased down the target in 18.5 overs as Nicholas Pooran scored 67 off 40 balls. After the match ended, several former cricketers and fans slammed skipper Hardik for his poor decision-making.

Ex-Pakistan Star's "Overconfident" Dig At Indian Team After 1st T20I Loss Against West Indies

Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal has criticised the Indian team after the side lost the first T20I match against West Indies at Tarouba, Trinidad on Thursday. The hosts stunned India by four runs as the tourists flopped in pursuit of a modest 150-run target. Well-placed at 77 for 3 in the 11th over thanks to debutant Tilak Varma's top score of 39 and 21 from Suryakumar Yadav, India then lost six wickets for just 68 runs. Akmal said that India were "overconfident" during the chase.

"Always There As Perfect Team Man": Ex-India Star's Big Praise For Sanju Samson

Former India wicketkeeper-batter Saba Karim is might impressed with Sanju Samson. The 28-year-old got chances to feature in two of the three-match ODI series against West Indies and fared pretty decently. While Samson was dismissed for nine runs in the second ODI, he scored 51 runs off 41 balls in the third and final ODI that India went on to win by 200 runs. While praising his most recent ODI knock, Karim termed Samson a "gifted player". Samson's fifty was laced with two fours and four sixes.