India is set to play three-match ODI series against South Africa beginning on Thursday. According to the stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan the stand-by players for the T20 World Cup, the ODI series will aim to use the three games to make a case for themselves for the main squad.
Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, and Chahar are the standbys named for the Indian team for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia and will be traveling Down Under as reserves.
Also Read: Want to be in good frame of mind for 2023 ODI World Cup: Shikhar Dhawan
"Of course, it is very important because the more matches they (standby players) are going to play, they will be in a better groove and a better mindset. If the boys perform well, then obviously the confidence will help them. Who knows they might get a chance so they can look at this series as preparation," Dhawan said on the eve of the first game.
With Jasprit Bumrah already ruled out, the series could be a shot-out between Deepak Chahar, who is in the list of reserves, and Mohammed Siraj, who could make that list if Shami fails to become match-fit before October 15.
With a lot of uncapped players, Rahul Tripathi, Rajat Patidar, Mukesh Kumar, and Shahbaz Ahmed, in the squad, Dhawan feels that the exposure will only help these youngsters grow.
"If you look at the performance of our youngsters, the transition that happened that shows their confidence.
"The more they play they will get more experience, their confidence level will increase. They will learn from mistakes. Even for me as well. Keeping 2023 in mind, the more matches I play will be beneficial for me," he added.
"The team is very good and with this team, we played in West Indies and Zimbabwe. Most of the players are the same, there are one or two new players. We share a good tuning. The new boys have brought in new energy. They have been doing well in the last few series."
India had defeated South Africa 2-1 in the preceding T20 series but Dhawan expects a tough fight from the Proteas in the ODIs.
"South Africa has a good team. Winning and losing are part of the game but it is important to learn from defeats," he said.
"Both the teams made plenty of runs in the T20 series. It depends on the pitch, dew factor, and plenty of other factors."
- India Full Squad of ODI Series:
Shikhar Dhawan (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Rajat Patidar, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Mohd. Siraj, Deepak Chahar.
(Inputs from PTI)
