Alternate Indian cricket team ODI XI against West Indies
On Wednesday, news broke out that COVID-19 had begun ravaging the Indian cricket team camp. The Men In Blue are scheduled to participate in a three-match ODI series against the West Indies, which will be followed by a three-game T20I rubber against the same opposition.
So far, four Indian cricket team players (Navdeep Saini, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer) have tested positive. There have also been a few others (support staff mainly) who have returned positive tests, meaning that the Indian cricket team might have to contend with a COVID-19 outbreak at some point.
On Thursday, the Indian cricket team also canceled their practice session, casting further doubt over whether the 1st ODI, slated for 6th February, will go ahead. That, though, offers a bit of a silver lining to those with an inclination to pick fantasy teams.
A year ago, England found themselves in a similar situation. Most of their squad had tested positive and they had to forcefully field a highly-changed outfit against Pakistan. They still emerged victorious and proclaimed to the world how rich their white-ball stocks were.
The Indian cricket team isn’t very far behind on that front. If anything, they seem to have greater resources at their disposal, meaning that if they were pressed into choosing an entirely different XI for the series against the West Indies, they might do just fine.
The criteria for selection is pretty clear. Players who are currently nursing injuries and/or have been accorded a rest by the Indian cricket team have not been considered for selection. The likes of KL Rahul (who is missing the 1st ODI), Mayank Agarwal (who has been recently added), R Sai Kishore, Shahrukh Khan (standbys) and those part of the T20I squad haven’t been considered either.
Alternative Indian cricket team XI
Openers – Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill
Turn the clock back to 2018. The Indian U-19 side has rocked up in New Zealand and seem set to thwart whatever challenges lie ahead. Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill, who have already been earmarked for greatness, are expected to be the Boys In Blue’s stars. They live up to that hype and the Indian cricket team wins the U-19 World Cup. The world is at Gill and Shaw’s feet, eh?
Four years on, neither has really lived up to that initial billing. Shaw blazed away to a century on Test debut but has fallen off a cliff since. Gill also impressed on his maiden Test tour Down Under, although he hasn’t been able to build on it.
From a pure statistical standpoint, there might be a few other openers (hello Devdutt Padikkal and Prashant Chopra) who have been more consistent than Gill and Shaw. Yet, it can’t be denied that Gill and Shaw have bags of talent, and if they can marry it with an end product, they could even walk into a first-choice Indian cricket team.
Their chemistry, especially after having played together and having won together, should hold the Indian cricket team in good stead too.
Middle order – Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson and Hardik Pandya (C)
Well, this is where things get a little interesting. There are many cricketers who ply their trade in the middle order and would’ve expected to find themselves in this eleven. Eventually, though, Rahul Tripathi and Sanju Samson pip them because of the qualities they bring to the fore.
Samson is the only top-drawer keeper available for selection, making his inclusion a no-brainer. That he has also begun maturing as a batter, and seems to have developed significantly after being appointed Rajasthan Royals skipper, strengthens his addition.
Tripathi, on the other hand, is one of few Indian batters who can dominate against spin from the outset. He has made a habit of doing so for the Kolkata Knight Riders and with the Indian cricket team struggling for impetus through the middle overs, he could act as the perfect tonic.
There might be a school of thought saying that someone like Nitish Rana or Padikkal are higher in the pecking order, considering they featured against Sri Lanka in 2021. But Tripathi hasn’t been a bad domestic performer either. The telling bit is that he has done well in whatever role he has been asked to fulfill and provides more adaptability than the aforementioned.
As for Hardik Pandya, there is still no clarity on how many overs he can bowl for the Indian cricket team. He was, however, selected in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup as a pure batter.
He didn’t set the world alight but didn’t much wrong too, meaning that when a second (or even third) string of Indian batters are thrown into the mix, he comfortably comes out on top as a viable alternative. That there aren’t many who can take the game to the opposition like he does, makes him a shoo-in.