3 surprising selections in India's squads for the West Indies tour

The 2019 World Cup ended on a sour note for India as they crashed out to New Zealand at the semi-final stage. The defeat meant that the hopes of a billion people were shattered in a trice and unsurprisingly, all eyes shifted to a post-mortem of where things went pear-shaped.

Hence, it was only inevitable that talks regarding the personnel and their suitability would crop up. The days in the aftermath of the elimination were filled with speculations regarding the identity of the players who might actually make the trip to face the West Indies in August and September.

On Sunday though, the BCCI put to bed all those discussions as they named the Indian squad for all three formats.

Contrary to common belief, Virat Kohli was handed the captaincy reins in all formats whereas MS Dhoni was an expected absentee. Additionally, Jasprit Bumrah was accorded a break for the white-ball leg while Hardik Pandya was rested for the entirety of the tour.

However, like many a time before, the touring party also included a few surprise inclusions. Thus, through the course of this article, we would take a look at three such players who made the cut for the series against the Caribbean outfit.

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#3 Washington Sundar – T20I squad

Washington Sundar returned to the T20I fold

Washington Sundar was picked to represent India in the T20I series after some time away from the national team setup. The lanky off-spinner is currently playing for the India A side in West Indies and many believe that his performances in the Caribbean have been the decisive factor in his call-up.

Sundar has been bowling well against the West Indies A side and has mustered 4 wickets in 3 games. Yet, he hasn’t been able to provide the X-Factor that the Indian team looks for in its spinners these days.

Moreover, the squad, discounting Sundar, already boasts of three specialist spinners. Hence, his inclusion could be termed a little superfluous under the circumstances.

Additionally, he doesn’t offer as much with the bat as Krunal Pandya or Ravindra Jadeja, meaning that he doesn’t have as many strings to his bow as the aforementioned duo.

Thus, the selection of Sundar over the likes of Axar Patel caught several people off-guard and on evidence, that might not be too unwarranted. Yet, the game of cricket is a great leveller and the lad from Tamil Nadu could silence all his critics with an accomplished performance in the T20I series.

However, despite having said the above, his introduction into the squad still qualifies as surprising rather than a certainty.

#2 Kedar Jadhav – ODI squad

Jadhav kept his place in the ODI squad

Kedar Jadhav has endured a topsy-turvy international career and has never really been able to establish himself as a definite starter. On numerous occasions, he has taken to the field with an axe hanging over his head.

The said fact was embodied at the World Cup where the Indian team, in a bid to sort out its balance, first ensured he was a part of the eleven and then discarded his services when they felt the side needed more batting muscle.

Thus, many believed his omission at the mega event to be the last straw in his ODI career. Yet, a few weeks later, he is packing his bags for the 50-over Caribbean adventure.

Over the past year, Jadhav’s stock has risen considerably and rather surprisingly, due to his bowling attributes. Currently, the Indian team is not blessed with a batsman capable of rolling his arm over. Hence, the middle-order batsman’s Lasith Malinga-esque off-spinners were worth their weight in gold.

Yet, with injuries no longer allowing him to unfurl that kind of ‘wizardry’ often, his resourcefulness has reduced significantly. Moreover, Jadhav is 34 years old and by the time the 2023 World Cup rolls in, he would be 38.

Thus, his inclusion for the ODI series against the West Indies is quite surprising. And to an extent, borders on defying cricketing logic.

#1 Rohit Sharma – Test squad

Can Rohit finally come off age in the Test arena?

The most surprising selection for India’s tour to the West Indies has to be that of Rohit Sharma. The right-hander has captured the imagination of one and all in white-ball cricket yet, has somehow managed to flounder spectacularly in the Test arena.

At the moment, Rohit Sharma boasts of a decent average of 39.62 in Tests. However, that number is slightly skewed considering two of his three centuries have come against the West Indies while the other was scored against Sri Lanka at Nagpur. More worryingly though, in 47 Test innings, the Indian ODI vice-captain has managed only three fifty-plus scores outside Asia.

On spicy pitches, his technique has been found wanting several times and he hasn’t been able to address those chinks well enough to forge a Test career in steel yet.

Though he scored a fifty in his last Test, the only reason the right-hander featured was because the Indian think-tank decided to play the extra batsman.

Thus, the Indians clearly showcased that he wasn’t at the forefront of their Test plans earlier in the year.

However, this time around, there seems to be renewed optimism, fuelled by his incredible run at the World Cup in England. But Test cricket is vastly different from the limited-overs format and none would accept that fact more than Rohit.

Come August, the middle-order batsman will have another bite at the Test cherry. Yet, that is astonishing considering Rohit has had countless previous nibbles at it and has come up short on most occasions.