Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma And...: What Team India Learned From West Indies Series

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.

Knowing that it was their final chance of trying out players ahead of the two multi-team events, skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli did not bat in the series and watched the action from the sidelines.

With series going down to the wire, the move was criticised but it allowed the likes of Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav to make a strong case for themselves.

Before the start of the series, Samson and Kishan were seen as contenders for the wicket-keeper's spot but by the end of it, the latter emerged as a strong contender for the reserve opener's slot with Rohit and Shubman Gill set to open in the Asia Cup.

Rohit's absence allowed Kishan to open in all three games and he made the most of the opportunity with scores of 52, 55 and 77.

Samson, who is used to being in and out of the side, got two innings to deliver under pressure and his impactful 51 off 41 balls in the series-deciding third ODI game ample proof of his rare talent.

More was expected from him in the following T20 series but could not make it count. However, the team is likely to carry him till at least the Asia Cup if not the World Cup.

In the absence of K L Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar had to ace the middle-order audition but the master of T20 batting fell short on the expectations.

Considering what he can do for the team in the