3 players who need to be immediately added to the Indian ODI setup after 2023 World Cup final disappointment
Where do Team India go from here? The Men in Blue were rampant throughout the 2023 World Cup, but the wheels came off in the final as they fell to Australia and failed to cap off what was nonetheless a memorable run in the tournament.
The 2025 Champions Trophy is the next big event on the cricketing calendar, and it remains to be seen if the senior players in India's side are going to turn out for them in that competition. The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin are slowly reaching the end of their respective careers, and their future remains a touch uncertain as of now.
The 2027 World Cup is another tournament that already finds itself in the spotlight. India and their fans are hungry for the crown in the biggest international event, and the team management will no doubt start taking steps towards ensuring that goal is reached.
Here are three players who need to be immediately added to the Indian ODI setup after the side's 2023 World Cup campaign.
#3 Tilak Varma
Unlike the other two players on this list, Tilak Varma was a serious contender to be part of India's 2023 World Cup squad despite having virtually no experience in the format at the international level. Injuries to KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, coupled with Tilak's emergence in T20s as well as his List A record, led to him being part of the squad in the ODI series against Australia just ahead of the World Cup.
Shreyas and Rahul recovered well and put their places in the side beyond any reasonable doubt, but that doesn't mean that Tilak can't feature as well. With the amount of international cricket that is being played, the 21-year-old is bound to have plenty of opportunities to showcase his obvious worth.
Importantly, Tilak is a left-handed batter with no glaring weaknesses who can chip in with more than a few overs of off-spin, something India sorely lack in their ODI side. He needs to be woven into the ODI setup immediately as the Men in Blue look to build towards a more well-rounded future.
#2 Riyan Parag
![Riyan Parag [left] has been a cut above the rest in domestic cricket](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/11/619e1-17009060978001-1920.jpg)
Another multi-faceted cricketer, Riyan Parag was one of the standout performers in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Parag scored 510 runs in 10 matches at an average of 85 and a strike rate of 182.79, with as many as seven fifties, to finish atop the run-scoring charts. The 22-year-old also recorded 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.29.
Parag has also been exceptional in the 50-over format at the domestic level. In last year's Vijay Hazare Trophy, he racked up 552 runs in nine matches at an average of 69 and a strike rate of 123.21. That was to go with 10 wickets at an economy rate of 5.57.
With clear indications that Parag is all set to become an invaluable white-ball asset, he needs to make the step up to the top level. The youngster has already turned out for India A in the Emerging Asia Cup among other tournaments, and it's only a matter of time before he cracks the code of the senior setup.
#1 Yashasvi Jaiswal
Yashasvi Jaiswal has played Tests and T20Is for Team India already, with a hundred and a fifty in each of the two formats. While he is yet to make his ODI debut, there are signs that he is going to effortlessly graduate to the first-choice side.
Jaiswal has a List A average of 53.96 over 32 innings, with seven fifties and five centuries. As a left-hander who can bowl a bit of leg-spin, the 21-year-old could be worth his weight in gold in ODIs by helping the Men in Blue tick off many boxes at once.
There's no doubt that Jaiswal needs to be part of the ODI setup immediately, even with the futures of the side's senior batters yet to be ascertained.