India sealed yet another ODI series against the West Indies on Tuesday (August 1) with a dominating 200-run win in the third and deciding match. For the 11th time in history, four of Indian batters crossed the 50-run mark in an ODI innings but what were the takeaways from the West Indies ODI series for the Men in Blue? This was perhaps the last opportunity for the team's main players to spend some quality time in the middle before two major tournaments - Asia Cup and World Cup.
Instead what did the team management led by Rahul Dravid do? India tried different players at crucial middle-order positions - 3, 4, 5 in all the three matches. Virat Kohli is locked at the number three position for the World Cup but he didn't bat in the entire series (played only one match). India had to address the number four issue but Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Sanju Samson respectively batted at the position in three ODIs.
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are set to open in the World Cup but the India captain strangely batted at seven in opener and then rested for the last two matches. It was a positive sign that Ishan Kishan smashed three fifties up at the top but didn't Rohit need some time in the middle? Before the West Indies series, he last played an ODI back in March this year returning with scores of 13 and 30 in two matches. Same goes for Kohli who also last batted in ODIs in March 2023.
The GRAND middle-order mess
Let us now highlight the major middle-order issue. The prime contenders for the middle-order slots 4 and 5 are Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul both of whom are injured and are reportedly 'recovering'. There is no comeback date set for them even as reports emerged recently that Rahul is unlikely even for the Asia Cup. If that is the case, then how will he be match fit for the World Cup?
The deadline to announce the squad for the mega event is September 5 (changes can be made to the squad closer to the tournament) and India now only have one match (against Pakistan) in Asia Cup to finalise their combination for the World Cup. Will the selectors pick undercooked and rusty Iyer and Rahul for the World Cup with little or no match practice before? If not, then who are the backups and are they ready? Let's see:
Ironically, KL Rahul is also India's first-choice wicketkeeper and as of now, it seems Ishan Kishan is set to be picked for the World Cup as a reserve opener and wicketkeeper as well. Automatically, if Rahul doesn't get fit in time, Kishan becomes the prime contender for the wicketkeeper's slot but he is originally an opener. Has he ever batted in the middle-order at four or five? Yes, Kishan has batted four six times scoring 106 runs at an average of 21.2 with one fifty to his name. He has never batted at five which has been Rahul's position ever since he took up the wicketkeeping role.
Another possible wicketkeeping option for India is Sanju Samson who has played 13 ODIs (batted 12 innings) so far in his career. Five times, he has batted at five and four times at number six. Samson has managed 104 runs at number five at an average of 34.67 while at six, the man has scored 180 runs at an average of 90. The sample size could be small but clearly, Samson looks a better player in the middle-order as it suits his game as well. On the contrary, Kishan doesn't seem to be comfortable outside the opening slot.
More intriguingly, Kishan didn't bat in the middle-order at all in the West Indies ODIs while Samson got only two chances, not at number five. This shows there is no role clarity for any of the players, there is no game time for the players who are certain for the World Cup and Asia Cup while there is uncertainty around the injured players as well. Interestingly, the bowling attack somewhat looks settled even though Jasprit Bumrah is returning after a long time while Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav have played enough so far.
What about scheduling? Why is India even playing T20Is two months before the World Cup?
After all the mess that has been created with so called experimentation, India's scheduling two months before the World Cup is completely weird. India is set to play as many as eight T20 Internationals, against the teams not qualified for the World Cup, when rest of the nine teams are preparing for the mega event. At least just before the Asia Cup, India could've played three ODIs against Ireland instead of the T20Is.
With September 5 being the deadline to announce World Cup squads, India effectively had only this West Indies series and even there, the team only did 'EXPERIMENTATION' and tried the backup players out of required position. Clearly, it doesn't matter how the Indian players including the head coach Rahul Dravid are justifying their decisions, this it not the IDEAL preparation for the World Cup.
