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Having won the third and final fixture convincingly by 96 runs in Ahmedabad, the Indian team completed a 3-0 whitewash in the recently-concluded ODI series against the West Indies.
In what was his first-ever ODI assignment as the Men in Blue's full-time skipper, Rohit Sharma became the first Indian captain to whitewash West Indies in an ODI series.
The caravan will now head towards Kolkata for the three-match T20I series which begins on February 16 at Eden Gardens. India's previous T20I series was against the 2021 T20 World Cup runners-up New Zealand at home in November last year.
Having taken over the reins from Virat Kohli just before that series, Rohit Sharma guided the Men in Blue to a 3-0 series whitewash against the Black Caps. He became the first Indian captain to achieve three T20I series whitewashes - with the previous two victories coming in 2017 (against Sri Lanka) and 2018 (against West Indies).
Meanwhile, several talented youngsters have been added to India's 18-man squad for the upcoming T20I series against the two-time world T20 champion, West Indies. On that note, let's look at the three players who deserve to feature in the playing XI during the three matches against West Indies.
3) Ruturaj Gaikwad
The 2021 IPL's Orange Cap winner has been deservingly retained by the defending champions, Chennai Super Kings, for the fifteenth edition of the IPL. The 25-year-old who was consistent with the willow throughout last season for the Men in Yellow, was adjudged the Emerging Player of the 2021 IPL.
The Pune-born top-order batter emerged as Maharashtra's highest run-getter in the 2021-22 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He then claimed pole position in the Vijay Hazare Trophy batting charts with 603 runs in just five innings at a staggering average of 150.75 which included four centuries.
Despite being part of India's ODI squads against South Africa and the West Indies, Ruturaj did not get a chance to don the prestigious blue jersey even once in both series, much to the disappointment of fans.
It was saddening to see such a talented batter warming the bench in a home series despite being in prime form. Roped in as a replacement to the injured KL Rahul, Ruturaj deserves a chance to feature in the Indian XI during the upcoming T20I series.
2) Avesh Khan
Yet another player who warmed the bench for the entirety of the three-match ODI series against West Indies was pacer Avesh Khan. The talented youngster recently grabbed the headlines as he became the most expensive uncapped player in IPL history. Lucknow Supergiants won the bidding war to acquire his services for a whopping ₹ 10 crores.
Having picked up 24 wickets at an economy of 7.37 last season for the Delhi Capitals, the 25-year-old ended up as the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2021, only behind Purple Cup winner Harshal Patel. The fiery pacer can consistently clock the 140-kph mark apart from his prowess with cutters, bouncers and pace variations.
Fans will hope the Indore-born player gets to feature in the Indian XI during the T20I series against Kieron Pollard's men having impressed at the domestic tournaments for Madhya Pradesh and the Delhi Capitals in the IPL.
1) Ravi Bishnoi
The young leg-spinner grabbed the headlines after being picked by brand new IPL franchise, the Lucknow Supergiants, during the 2022 IPL auction. Bishnoi represented the Punjab Kings across two seasons - 2020 and 2021 IPL, picking up 24 wickets in 23 matches for KL Rahul's men.
Regarded as one of the country's brightest spin-bowling prospects, the 21-year-old earned his maiden Team India call-up for this ongoing limited-overs series against the West Indies. Despite being in the squad during the ODIs, the Jodhpur-born player had to warm the bench as couldn't break into the starting XI.
Bishnoi was impressive with the ball for the Punjab Kings last season, having picked up 12 wickets in 9 matches at an economy of just 6.34. With slow left-arm orthodox bowler Axar Patel being ruled out of the series, fans will hope Bishnoi gets a chance during the upcoming T20Is.
