OPINION
Follow UsShould Virat Kohli have played this series to regain his mojo?
In the last couple of years, even before the unprecedented chaos amid the pandemic, one of the significant talking points for the Indian team, especially in the batting department, has been the form of Virat Kohli.
The former skipper of the national side has blown hot and cold at the international level, with his fans waiting with bated breath for his 71st century across formats.
In the six ODI innings he has played thus far in 2022, the right-handed batter has scored 142 runs at an average of 23.67, which is the lowest for him across all the years where he has batted in a minimum of five innings.
After being rested for the South African T20I series combined with lack of runs in the rescheduled fifth Test against England, it would have been ideal for Kohli to be a part of the fifty-over side for the West Indies series and try to find his mojo back in his favourite format by spending time in the middle.
Well, only time will tell if the decision to rest him was the right one or not, but it is fair to say India is eagerly waiting for their premier batter to find some form and win matches for the country.
The curious case of Prithvi Shaw
One of the most aggressive opening batters in Indian cricket, it is hard to believe that Prithvi Shaw has yet again been ignored by the national selectors for the ODI series against West Indies away from home.
While the 22-year-old scored a run-a-ball 49 in his last outing for the Indian side, he would consider himself extremely unlucky to miss out on a place in the team with several key players rested. With 2316 runs in 44 innings at an average of 56.48 and a strike rate of 124.9, Shaw clearly has all the credentials to help the Indian team get off to a flying start in the powerplay.
In the recently concluded Indian Premier League, Shaw smashed 283 runs in 10 innings with a strike rate of 153, which was primarily the reason why Delhi Capitals were successful in their first half of the competition. While selectors have opted for Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shubman Gill, along with the experience of Shikhar Dhawan, the duo are steady batters who do not take the attack to the opposition bowling unit.
With Shaw in the mix, his aggressive brand of cricket would have been a perfect foil to Dhawan, who is more of an anchor at the top of the order.
Is it the end of Bhuvneshwar Kumar in ODI cricket?
Another notable omission from the squad was the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, especially with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami not featuring in the series.
After a decent performance in the T20I series against South Africa, there have been talks of Bhuvneshwar finally finding his rhythm in the white-ball format.
While the senior speedster missed out on a place in the ODI squad for the England series as well, his exclusion from the West Indies team with a plethora of youngsters has shown the path of how the team management wants to go ahead in the fifty-over format.
The right-arm pacer endured a dismal performance in the last couple of seasons and scalped nine wickets in seven innings at an average of 42.6 and a strike rate of 44, which is the worst among Indian pacers with a minimum of 25 overs in ODI cricket since 2021.
Mohammed Shami and the way forward for him in white-ball formats
While all exclusion of Bhuvneshwar still makes some sense, the role and the way forward for Shami is hard to understand as the 31-year-old is part of the ODI squad for the England series but does not feature either in the T20I series prior to that or the West Indies series.
The right-arm pacer was one of the significant reasons for Gujarat Titan's campaign and often wreaked havoc with the new ball in the first six overs of the innings to derail the opposition batting unit early in the innings.
His absence from the squad surely did raise some eyebrows but his selection and omission in different squads seem vague.
India's decision to safeguard Hardik Pandya for the World Cup
One of the talking points in the last T20 World Cup was the form and fitness surrounding Hardik Pandya. The all-rounder made a resounding comeback to cricket in this edition of the IPL and showcased his skills with bat and ball to lead the Titans to their maiden title in the tournament.
The 28-year-old was part of India's team for the South Africa series at home and also led the side in the two-match series against Ireland last week.
With the majority of senior players back in the side for the white-ball series against England, Hardik has handed over the mantle to Rohit Sharma. While Hardik features in the white-ball squad for England, he is rested for the ODI leg of the Windies tour as the selectors have opted not to risk him ahead of the all-important World Cup set to commence later this year Down Under.
