West Indies tri-series 2013: Not rotating players to hurt India in the long run

MS Dhoni’s injury could have been avoided with a much-needed rest

It is difficult to remember an Indian side that played with so much authority overseas as this young Indian squad did at the Champions Trophy in England.

It was a result that did not come out of nowhere, the nucleus was always in place but some strong decisions taken by the selection team spurred the team to greater heights. It is important now to conserve the talent we have, build upon the margins of the squad so that we have a larger group of players to depend upon as we move further on the grand road to the World Cup of 2015.

The tour of the West Indies for the triangular series has come a little too early for India’s liking. It was hardly a week since India lifted the trophy and the players did not even get a chance to savour the flavor of such a rare victory. It is a shame that such a packed calendar destroys the very purpose of playing cricket as the players can’t even enjoy the success they have worked so hard for.

The body language of the Indian team in the first two matches has indicated that their bodies and minds are fatigued.

Moreover, India are travelling with an unchanged squad which means the same set of players will try to build upon the Champions Trophy result. That decision is not an outrageous one as India used the same eleven for the most part of the competition which means that players like Amit Mishra, Irfan Pathan, Vinay Kumar, Murali Vijay did not get a chance to showcase their skills at the tournament.

Irfan Pathan, who sustained an injury, was replaced with Shami Ahmed. However, India could have made more changes to the side considering the fact that a lot of these players have been playing at the Indian Premier League prior to this tournament.

One of the players who could have been rested was MS Dhoni, but he’s now down with an injury that will keep him out of the tri-series. Ravichandran Ashwin is a proven commodity, and with the presence of Amit Mishra in the squad, he could have been given a well deserved rest. There is no doubt about the fact that a lot of these youngsters need the experience of playing in alien conditions of the Caribbean, but there was some scope for breeding new talent that was not exploited.