Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes the white-ball series against the West Indies is a good opportunity for young players. Pathan reckons players like Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Jurel and Gurnoor Brar have a good chance to prove their mettle at the top level.

Reddy recently scalped six wickets in three T20Is against Afghanistan. The all-rounder was recently withdrawn from the T20I squad for the Asian Games and has been included in the ODI series against the Windies.

Jurel has performed consistently for India in the red-ball version and scored 173 runs in three innings against Sri Lanka.

Brar has made an impressive start to his young career but didn’t get his chance against Sri Lanka. The lanky pacer scalped five wickets in the Duleep Trophy semifinal against South Zone while representing North Zone.

Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports, “This is not the main team, and it’s the right way to go with many of the regulars playing the Asian Games. It’s a huge opportunity for several others, especially Nitish Kumar Reddy and Dhruv Jurel. It could also be a golden opportunity for Gurnoor Brar to take his international career forward. And India can afford to pick a second-string squad like this against a side like the West Indies.”

Pathan said the scheduling of the series against the West Indies is a blessing in disguise as India would also take part in the Asian Games.

“You want to test your bench strength with only a year left before the World Cup. The opportunity has incidentally presented itself for that with the Asian Games happening in parallel. So it’s a blessing in disguise,” said Pathan (via the aforementioned source).

The first ODI between India and the West Indies will be played on 27th September.