ODI series against a weak Windies team should've been treated as an opportunity to know everything that there is to know about your reserves, but by leaving newcomers out of playing XI, that opportunity was wasted
That Rishabh Pant didn't get a single game on his maiden international tour was surprising
India wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies 3-1. We knew that it'd happen. Kohli scored yet another ODI ton in a successful chase. Well, everybody knew that he's the chase master and it was only a matter of time before he produced another masterclass.
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Mohd Shami returned to the fold with a four-wicket haul in the last ODI. He was out of ODI action because of an injury and not for the lack of form. His coming back in style shouldn't raise eyebrows either.
Rahane made the ODI series his own with three fifties and a century. Perhaps, he's settled the debate with regards to who should be India's third opener once Rohit Sharma is back. Or has he?
Will KL Rahul be groomed for the middle-order role or Rahane will, once again, be expected to remodel his game to suit the new demands? We got to know about Rahane that we already knew i.e. he's suited to open in ODI cricket.
Pandya boost to India
Hardik Pandya has started bowling his full quota of 10 overs regularly and that goes down as a big boost for the Indian team going ahead. Kohli's preference to play only five bowlers including Pandya puts a lot of emphasis on Pandya, the bowler. And his bowling has been both economical and incisive. Finally, something we didn't know in detail.
Kuldeep Yadav was handed his ODI debut and he's made an immediate mark. He's been picking wickets throughout and in fact, made us ponder if he should've been in the playing XI during the Champions Trophy too. Another positive!
A series against the current West Indies should be seen and been treated as an opportunity to know everything that there's to know about your reserves. The cumulative ODI experience of the entire West Indian team was lesser than Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni alone. Since India lost one game, some might argue that even that experience wasn't enough to win every single game and therefore, it was prudent to pick and play the strongest possible side.
Other side of the argument
The other side of the argument is that if India had played a second string side, it would've lost, may be, a game more and even that wouldn't have made a huge difference to the team's fortunes.
And to assume that India would've lost the series if Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishabh Pant, Basil Thampi and Sanju Samson had played is preposterous, for that would be underestimating the younger brigade and over-estimating the West Indies. Even if that was the case, it's better to lose a series and know your wards than losing an opportunity to know them. But whose responsibility was it to give everyone a go? The captain or the selectors?
Selectors' call in the end
Before championing anyone's cause, allow me to share a story. Not too long ago, the national selectors told the captain that a legend was a surplus and they didn't want him in the playing XI. The captain was also on the same page but requested the selectors to take a call themselves and not leave it for him to do the dirty work, and he was right. If the selectors wanted to pull the trigger, it's only fair for them to hold the gun too.
As it turned out in the end, selectors selected the said player and the captain dutifully played him in the XI. While every team selection adopts a fair bit of consensus and reflects a shared vision, it's the selectors' call in the end.
Rest for seniors? Probably
If the selectors wanted to try out a few youngsters in the series against the WI, they should've rested some of the senior guys to accommodate youth. In theory, you can always do what Kohli did with Kuldeep (he played every game and Ravindra Jadeja-R Ashwin were rotated) but to expect the same done for Pant was ambitious, for the players needed to be rotated were only one-format players.
Since Jadeja-Ashwin play all three formats, it was relatively easier for them to be rotated but anyone who's playing only ODIs would consider the rest unfair. India have two full years to prepare for the 2019 World Cup and MSK Prasad, the chairman of selectors, has hinted that youngsters will be given chances leading up to the big event. The ODI leg of the tour to Sri Lanka would be a good time for the wise men to walk the talk.
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