Former Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane has suggested two changes to India’s playing XI for the third ODI against the West Indies. Rahane wants Mohammed Siraj to play his first match of the series and also wants Nitish Kumar Reddy to get back into the playing XI after missing the last game in Guwahati.
Reddy had returned with figures of 1-45 in five overs he bowled in the series opener on Sunday. On the other hand, Siraj surprisingly didn’t play in the first two games against the visitors as India backed Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna and Auqib Nabi Dar.
Krishna has been ruled out of the third game due to a hamstring injury and he has been replaced by Anshul Kamboj in the squad.
Rahane further added that it wouldn’t make much sense to play Yashasvi Jaiswal for just one game as the top order is already in top form.
“I want to see 1 or 2 changes. Mohammed Siraj will mostly come in, and I want to see Nitish Kumar Reddy back as well. If he is in your World Cup plans, his role will be crucial, so it is important to give him confidence here. If Jaiswal doesn’t play now, it makes no difference at all, because our batting is set. You need to set the all-rounder’s slot,” Ajinkya Rahane said on Cricbuzz.
While Shubman Gill has scored 333 runs in the series, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have aggregated 168 and 133 runs in two games respectively. Thus, the trio have done the bulk of the scoring for the team.
On the other hand, former Indian wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik said he won’t be surprised if there are one-two changes in India’s playing XI.
“First of all, there could be a forced change, Naman Dhir had an injury, so we don’t know if he is going to be fit. I won’t be surprised if one of the pacers gives way for Siraj to come in and play a game. Maybe Nitish Kumar Reddy gets back into the squad. Look, you can play whom you want, you’ve won the series. Whether you want to fit in Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel for a game, or you can be just ruthless and win the series 3-0 and play the best possible XI. It’s completely up to them. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are 1-2 changes,” Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
The third ODI between India and the West Indies will be played at New Chandigarh on Saturday.
