Varun Chakravarthy came in as a late addition to the Indian squad for the England ODIs, but then he looks almost certain to make the playing XI for the 1st match in Nagpur, on Thursday. But then, former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar doesn’t feel so, as he not only left out Varun, but also Yashasvi Jaiswal and Axar Patel.
KL Rahul Omitted, Rishabh Pant In
In a chat with ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar also went in with Rishabh Pant instead of KL Rahul. While Virat Kohli remained a certain No. 3 and Shreyas Iyer came back at No. 4, followed by Pant and Hardik Pandya at No. 6. The broadcaster also felt that Washington Sundar might get the nod above Axar Patel.
Apart from that, he also went on to add that Rohit Sharma had excellent track record in the ODIs, and Jaiswal will have to still wait for his chance in the format. In fact, he also went on to support Virat Kohli, saying there is no challenge for him.
No Space for Axar Patel in IND vs ENG
“This is One Day cricket and his track record in ODIs has been brilliant. There is no sense in dropping him from ODIs. Yashasvi Jaiswal needs to wait. It’s good news for India that such a quality player is out of the XI. It’s an option for India.”
On Kohli he said, “I don’t think there is a challenge for Virat Kohli because he’ll come at No. 3. He has enough form and fitness to adapt.” Lastly, it was a straightforward pick for pacers, where he went in with Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh.
Sanjay Manjrekar’s India XI for 1st ODI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh.
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