Suffering a backlash for their experimental approach in the three-match ODI series against West Indies, Ravindra Jadeja stated that the method is a temporary one and the Playing XI is already decided for the Asia Cup 2023.The Men in Blue did some chops and changes to their team combination and batting positions in the first two ODIs of the series against West Indies. They survived to win the first one when Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli did not bat at their usual positions but suffered a loss in the second one when the senior duo was rested from the team.
However, Jadeja has claimed that these experiments are being done to give opportunities being given to the younger crop and are not long-lasting ones. "This is the series before the Asia Cup and World Cup, where we can experiment, we can try out new combinations. It will give us an idea about the team's balance, strengths and weaknesses," Jadeja told reporters ahead of the third ODI.
Captain and team management know what combination to play: Jadeja
The Indian all-rounder added that the management and the captain know what team combination to field in the Asia Cup and there is no confusion over it. "Captain and team management know what combination they are going to play. There is no confusion at all. We have already decided what is going to be the combination in the Asia Cup, they have already decided that before. But it's more about trying out a particular player or batter at a batting position," the 34-year-old added.
The team tried and tested different batters on different spots in the series. Rohit Sharma came out to bat at number seven in the first ODI, while Kohli did not even bat when India won by 5 wickets. Ishan Kishan opened the innings along with Shubman Gill, while Suryakumar Yadav batted at number three. Hardik Pandya played at four and even Shardul Thakur was pushed above Sharma and Kohli.
In the second one, both the senior pros were excluded, making way for Sanju Samson and Axar Patel into the team. Samson was India's number three in that game and Patel came out to bat at four. Suryakumar was pushed to six and Pandya to five with India's mixup batting approach. Jadeja opened on different batting positions too. "We are trying different combinations. We can try different batters at different positions. This is the series where we can afford to chop and change. Young players also need that international experience, they also need game time," he said.
The Indian team will gear up for the Asia Cup 2023, which kickstarts on August 30th. The Men in Blue would target the tournament for preparations for the ODI World Cup later in October-November.
