New Delhi: After resting captain Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid preferred to consider the "bigger picture" when Team India was outplayed by the West Indies in the second ODI. Even though West Indies didn't make it to the 2023 World Cup, the Men from the Caribbean beat an inexperienced Indian batting lineup and enjoyed a sweet victory.
At the Kensington Oval in Barbados, Shai Hope's team defeated Team India by six wickets to tie the One Day International (ODI) series at one game each. In the middle game of the three-match series, India notably suffered without the leadership of Rohit and the run-producing Kohli. It's interesting to note that India's loss to the West Indies was the nation's first since the year 2019. Critics criticized the Indian think tank for resting seasoned campaigners in the series finale.
At the Kensington Oval in Barbados, Shai Hope's team defeated Team India by six wickets to tie the One Day International (ODI) series at one game each. In the middle game of the three-match series, India notably suffered without the leadership of Rohit and the run-producing Kohli. It's interesting to note that India's loss to the West Indies was the nation's first since the year 2019. Critics criticized the Indian think tank for resting seasoned campaigners in the series finale.
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“Some of them were perplexed at how we lost to a team that didn’t even qualify for the World Cup. Many people think that India’s only job in international cricket is to win World Cup. The main reason why we consider ourselves favorites to win the World Cup is because of the IPL,” Ashwin added.
Hardik Pandya led the Men in Blue in the series finale on Tuesday despite India losing the second ODI and choosing to rest Kohli and Rohit.
India won by a comfortable score of 200 runs thanks to a professional showing from the bowlers and batters. Ishan Kishan (77), Shubman Gill (85), and Sanju Samson (51) all scored half-centuries, laying the groundwork for a mammoth total of 351-5 in the 20-over match, which was quickly followed by Pandya's quick-fire knock of 70. Ashwin gave an explanation of why the Asian giants left Rohit and Kohli off the starting lineup for the third ODI, citing Team India's recent injury struggles.
“ODI matches are very stressful. It will take at least two days for your body to recover. The first two matches in West Indies were played in a gap of 24 hours. Thus, there are more chances of you getting injured. Already we have so many players recovering at the NCA. Bumrah is back after a long hiatus. Prasidh Krishna is back too. So, we have so many injury problems. It seems like people are finding points to blame Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma just for the sake of it," Ashwin said.
After securing the ODI series 2-1, India are scheduled to take on the West Indies in five T20Is. Under the leadership of Pandya, Dravid's Team India will try out the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma and Mukesh Kumar in the T20Is. “They are trying different players now because they know what they went through during the last T20 World Cup. We didn’t have Ravindra Jadeja and Bumrah, and we didn’t have many fast bowlers. That’s why we are trying different options before the ODI World Cup,” Ashwin added.
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