The India ODI squad for their series against South Africa was announced on New Year’s Eve.
The series was set to be Rohit Sharma’s first as full-time captain in charge of the 50-over side, but he has failed to recover from his injury and will not be a part of the squad. The group will instead be led by KL Rahul with Jasprit Bumrah as his deputy. Let us take a look at what we can learn from the squad announcement:
Shikhar Dhawan has got the backing of the selectors
There were a few questions around Shikhar’s place given his age – he will be 37 years old by the time the 2023 World Cup starts -, and the recent lean run he endured in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021/22, managing just 56 runs at 11.2. India have a number of promising opening options available to them. But the selectors have shown that they still have faith in the old gun.
And to be fair, the Delhi opener hasn’t done much wrong in his international career. An overall ODI average of 45.55 and a strike-rate of 93.79 is a set of numbers as good as they come. He has also been good with the willow in the last few ODIs. This however leaves India with the question of the opening combination they will want to go with in the South Africa ODIs.
Bumrah gets the recognition his impact deserves
While it was reasonable to believe that after his recent elevation to the vice-captaincy in the Test setup, KL Rahul would be given a similar role in the ODIs too, Jasprit Bumrah’s appointment as his deputy was an interesting call. This was a clear acknowledgment of the fact that Bumrah leads the India bowling attack on the field, while also ensuring that a hierarchy is in place in the ODI setup.
India hasn’t had a bowling captain in ODIs since Anil Kumble donned the role for an ODI against England in 2002.
India looking to settle the all-rounder question
The selection of Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur and Venkatesh Iyer makes it clear that India have settled on these faces as the possible answer to their all-round dilemma during the ODIs. India would ideally have several options which add variety to the squad, especially with Hardik Pandya’s bowling unreliable due to fitness issues.
With the next World Cup to be played in India, they might also be looking at developing an attack with spinning all-rounders like Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, (Jadeja and Patel miss out the South Africa ODIs due to an injury), Ravichandran Ashwin, and Washington Sundar in the mix.
Ashwin back as the leader of the spin attack
This was widely expected given how well India’s premier spinner had performed after making his T20I return, but it’s still notable how Ashwin has come back into contention after last playing an ODI more than four years ago. The experienced spinner has looked dangerous across formats and will be expected to play a key role for India in next year’s World Cup too. Yuzvendra Chahal also finds a space in the squad.
While the return of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel will only strengthen India’s spin options, this is a good opportunity for someone like Washington Sundar to impress the selectors.
India set to rotate players in the next few months
While announcing the squad, the chief selector also mentioned how several young domestic performers were in consideration, and their time should come soon. He went on to name the leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, Himachal Pradesh all-rounder Rishi Dhawan, Madhya Pradesh quick Avesh Khan, Tamil Nadu sensation Shahrukh Khan and Harshal Patel as players whose names were discussed.
Given that the World Cup is only a year away, India will try to settle in with their best possible squad way before the tournament commences.
