High-flying India beat England in the third ODI match to seal the series by 2-1. They finished their England tour with a 2-1 win in T20Is after the Three Lions managed to beat India in the rescheduled fifth Test match. Now they turn attention to the next white-ball series against West Indies.
The latest cricket news suggests the West Indies are set to host India for a three-match ODI series and five-match T20I series starting on July 22. Indian management decided to rest senior key players Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Shami for the ODI series. But Rohit is included to lead the T20I setup, which also sees the return of vice-captain KL Rahul.
Indian fans criticized the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for their decision to rest start batters Kohli and Rohit and in-form pacer Bumrah for this tour. All three players were rested from the recent T20I series against South Africa and Ireland last month. Both Rohit and Kohli are struggling for the form and need regular playing time as both will be part of India’s squad for the upcoming 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. Let’s take a look at three Indian players who deserve to be part of the West Indies tour.
1. Virat Kohli
The former skipper remains the highest ranked Indian batter in ICC ODI Batters’ chart, despite his poor run of form. He maintains a 57.7 on average in ODI cricket and 50.1 in the shortest format.
Despite not scoring a century in the last two years, he has a 35-plus average with nine fifties. He played only the last two ODI matches against England after missing the first fixture due to a groin injury. He has scored 2235 runs in just 39 ODI matches against West Indies at an impressive average of 72.9, the highest among Indian players.
2. Jasprit Bumrah
The right-arm pacer was a surprise absentee when BCCI announced the squad for the West Indies tour. He finished the England tour on a high note with eight wickets in two ODI matches, two wickets in only T20I matches, and five in the last Test match.
Bumrah, 28, is in his prime and needs to be part of every possible international match. Despite making his debut in 2016, he has appeared in just 72 ODI and 58 T20I matches so far. He regained the top spot in the ICC ODI bowlers’ chart but is placed in the 28th position in the T20I charts due to a lack of regular cricket.
3. Rahul Tripathi
The experienced batter continues to score big in domestic cricket but is finding it tough to penetrate the Indian national setup. He was part of both T20I squads Ireland and England series but was not given a chance to make his debut.
He smashed 413 runs in 14 IPL 2022 matches at an average of 37.54 and a strike of 158.23. Fans continue to blame BCCI for ignoring Tripathi who deserves to play a few matches for Men in Blue.
