Has India been fielding their best possible XI? One might say no. Washington Sundar’s inclusion has been head-scratching, especially as India’s number five. To maintain the right-left combination, Gautam Gambhir has demoted interim captain KL Rahul to six and promoted Washington to five.
Muddled thinking
That only happened in Ranchi, as Rahul was promoted back to five in Raipur. But the move to try Washington as Axar Patel’s replacement hasn’t worked. You couldn’t ask for better entry points, 183/3 and 284/4, but the performance hasn’t been as desired.
What makes Washington’s selection a bit iffy is that the team management is playing him as a batting all-rounder. This was confirmed by India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate earlier today. That’s why he’s bowled just 7 overs in the first two matches.
If India wants a batting all-rounder, why not opt for Nitish Kumar Reddy? What’s frustrating is that Ryan admitted spin isn’t the best option in the ongoing series due to dew setting in, yet India picked 3 spinners, with Washington one of them. “In those conditions, you can’t bowl 20 overs of spin,” Ryan said on the eve of the India vs South Africa 3rd ODI.
Will India take the risk?
If you aren’t even planning on bowling 20 overs of spin, aren’t Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja enough? Nitish should be the better option. One may argue that Washington has been picked since he’s a left-handed batter, just like Axar. Well, if that’s the case, what’s wrong with Rishabh Pant?
Unlike Washington, Pant rarely takes time to settle. He possesses the ability to go berserk from ball one and has experience of batting in the middle order in white-ball cricket. Considering India also needs a finisher in Hardik Pandya’s absence, Pant should have been the first choice, especially if Washington hasn’t been used judiciously with the ball.
Gambhir’s affinity for all-rounders has made India lean towards Washington, as Axar has been successful playing the same role. But they are two different players at different stages of their careers. It’ll be fascinating to see whether India makes any changes to the team with the series on the line.
India squad for 3rd South Africa ODI
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (c & wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana
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