In what would come as a surprise for fans on the day of the opening ODI at Kensington Oval on Thursday, Indian pace spearhead Mohammed Siraj has been rested the ODI series to manage workload. As per a report on ESPNCricinfo, Siraj has flown back to India. Siraj, who was part of the Test side, picked up five wickets at Trinidad to bundle out the hosts. He has been in good form in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence and would be in the scheme of things for the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023 later in the year.
India captain Rohit would also have a milestone within his grasp during the first ODI. Rohit needs 175 runs to complete 10,000 runs in ODI cricket. The Indian captain has double-centuries in ODI cricket, hence you cannot put the possibility beyond him.
With many regulars of the Indian team still on the road to recovery from injuries of various kind, the series against the West Indies presents a chance for the likes of Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Umran Malik to strengthen their case for playing a home Odi World Cup.
With Shreyas Iyer out, Suryakumar Yadav is likely to be given a chance for batting at number four despite recording a hat-trick of ducks in the ODIs against Australia in March. It is about making the opportunities count from here as we are in the last lap ahead of the marquee event.
