India vs West Indies | Rahul’s return set to lead to selection dilemma

Dhawan and Shreyas being highly unlikely to be considered for selection on Wednesday.

K.L. Rahul prepares to catch a ball during a practice session ahead of their second One Day International cricket match against West Indies, in Ahmedabad on February 7, 2022.

Problem of plenty. It has been one of the grand old cliches that sport outfits have been throwing around for years. In the pandemic-struck world, with the squad size being much larger that usual, the proverbial has turned into a reality.

When India takes on the West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday in the second ODI in an attempt to seal the three-match series, Rohit Sharma and Co. will literally and figuratively have a problem of plenty before finalising its combination.

K.L. Rahul (personal reasons), Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad (Covid infection) were unavailable for Sunday’s series opener. Since then, Rahul has had two hits in the nets, including Tuesday evening’s training, while Shreyas and Dhawan were out of isolation and had a light workout with the squad.

Dhawan and Shreyas being highly unlikely to be considered for selection on Wednesday. Still, Rahul’s availability means India still have plenty to ponder before toss. At the time of selection, Rahul was expected to bat in the middle order, as he has done frequently in the last two years in ODIs.

With Dhawan’s unavailability, the team management will have to decide whether to use Rahul at the top along with Rohit or continue to let him play the finisher’s role. Depending on Rahul’s batting position will it be decided whether Ishan Kishan, who opened on Sunday, or Deepak Hooda, who batted sensibly on his ODI debut, will make way fo the vice-captain.

Despite the team management had drafted Hooda in to the squad as a possible option for a batting all-rounder, he was not required to bowl on Sunday. With the team struggling to find a reliable bowling option among the top six batters, it will be interesting to see if Hooda is persisted with at the cost of Kishan.

In the bowling department, with all five bowlers, especially the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar, putting up an impressive show, it’s unlikely that there will be a change in the line-up. Unless, of course, the management feels the need to rotate the pacers.

While India will be gunning to spin its web around Windies, Kieron Pollard and Co. will be hoping to raise its bar and stretch India after a lacklustre outing at the beginning of the series. Pollard will be hoping for the West Indies batters to withstand the constant pressure applied by India’s bowlers to help himself and Jason Holder to accelerate in the latter half.

Besides, the Windies youngsters will obviously be looking forward to make a case ahead of the Indian Premier League auction scheduled over the weekend. But if the conditions at the Motera continue to be as spin-friendly as they were on Sunday, the writing will in all likelihood be on the wall for the visiting outfit.

The teams (from):

India: Rohit Sharma (Capt.), Ishan Kishan, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan.

West Indies: Kieron Pollard (Capt.), Nicholas Pooran (Vice-capt.), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Hayden Walsh Jr.

Match starts 1.30 pm, live on Star Sports and Disney+ Hotstar