"MI captain preferred his teammate over deserving" - Fans react after Suryakumar Yadav finds place in India's playing XI for 1st ODI vs WI

Enigmatic middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav has found a place in India's playing XI for the first ODI against West Indies. The three-match ODI series between the two sides got underway on Thursday, July 27, at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.

With the 2023 ODI World Cup coming up, Team India management is looking at this series and the upcoming matches as a dress rehearsal to finalize their combination for the mega event in October.

Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant's absence due to fitness issues opened up a window of chance for Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav in the West Indies series.

Team management gave the nod to Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav for the two vacant middle-order slots in the playing XI for the first ODI. Suryakumar Yadav's inclusion ahead of Sanju Samson infuriated the fans.

They pointed out Surya's shortcomings in the format over the past year and felt that Samson deserved the chance as he performed well in the limited chances he got so far.

Here are some of the top Twitter reactions to Suryakumar Yadav's selection:

Post by @krish_25k

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A fan reacts after Suryakumar Yadav finds a place in India's playing XI

Twitter reactions to Sky's inclusion.

Twitter reactions to Sky's inclusion.

Twitter reactions to Sky's inclusion

Twitter reactions to Sky's inclusion

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Team India captain Rohit Sharma opts to bowl after winning the toss in the first ODI vs West Indies

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma invited opponents to bat first after winning the toss in Barbados. He mentioned that they wanted to try a few things, which played a role in his decision.

Sharma said:

"We're going to field first. No particular reason, just that we wanted to try a few things and see where we are as a team. Keeping a few things in mind, we wanted to head into the World Cup with a clear mindset. We wanted to enter the World Cup having tried everything possible.

He added:

"For us, the results are also important, at times where we're going to try some things, but we don't want to compromise on results. All cricketers around the world who are playing all formats need to adapt well. Hopefully, we can get what we want here. Four seamers, and two spinners for us."

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India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (WK), Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar

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West Indies (Playing XI): Shai Hope (C & WK), Kyle Mayers, Brandon King, Alick Athanaze, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Yannic Cariah, Dominic Drakes, Jayden Seales, Gudakesh Motie