If I were a West Indian selector or if I am the captain of West Indies, I will be worried, really worried that the West Indian team managed to lose a series 0-3 to an Indian team who were devoid of most of their first choice players. West Indies are not the same anymore. They lost their aura a longtime ago and are struggling to replace their quality players. Nevertheless, India are not complaining because they absolutely dominated the ODI series with some really good performances.
Shubnam Gill’s outstanding form
Gill’s performance through the games shone brightly. Here is a highly talented batsman who announced himself quite so spectacularly in Australia and who went off the radar for awhile, has comeback quite strongly and if not for bad luck because of the weather, would have gone onto to record his first international century. Gill has suddenly propelled himself into a strong position and if either Dhawan or Rohit is injured, he is likely to be drafted in as the backup opener.
He is a batsman who has lots of time to play his shots. Those crisp cover drives and the brilliant horizontal bat shots, there is no doubt about his talent. He does not have any weakness. He can play fast bowling and spinners equally well. With Gill at the top, India never felt the void left behind by Rohit. At just 23, he will get abundant chances to make a permanent name for himself. He could well be the next big Indian batsman.
The batting of Axar Patel
64 of 35 deliveries and that too, in a match winning cause. This is stuff of all dreams for all the players. To play a match winning innings. When Axar walked to the wicket, India were in dire straits. There was no way India could win that game. His shots were crisp and was hit with lot of power. Axar himself would have been surprised by his innings. He would have expected to win a game with the ball but to do so with the bat will increase his confidence many times. Sundar and Ashwin has a competition in Axar. Let us see how far does he go.
Prasidh Krishna
He is tall and has pace. His deliveries bounces and thereby catches the batsman off-guard. He also all the attributes of a classic fast bowler and yet, he is lacking in consistency. These are early days and ODI is not the format to judge a fast bowler but Krishna has potential and he needs to play as many games as possible for him to improve.
The major disappointment
The major disappointment was Shikhar Dhawan. He is still in the 1990s mode. He takes way too many deliveries upfront to settle himself. The game has completely changed and under Rohit and Dravid, India is aiming to change the way the bat. Especially, in the first 10 overs. It is onething to plan for such a change and it is another to have the personnel to effect those changes. At the moment, Dhawan is falling short. The 3rd game was the worst of the lot. A strike rate of 41 in ODI is simply unforgivable these days. His innings was a major reason for India to feel the pressure later on.
Ajay Jadeja was severely critical of Dhawan
“India moved on to KL Rahul and some of the younger players. Then suddenly he (Dhawan) was made the captain of the Sri Lanka tour last year. Then again he was left out, then was taken to England. So what are they thinking? And if he is part of India’s thought process, then captain Rohit Sharma said that we will play an aggressive brand of cricket. He is definitely not part of it,” said Jadeja.
There was a time when Dhawan was part of all the formats for India. He was dropped from the Test squad and later from T20 too. ODI is the only format that he plays and if he is not able to contribute towards team’s objectives, perhaps it is time to let him go.
Surya Yadav’s poor returns
The other disappointment was Surya Yadav. Three poor scores in 3 games and that too batting at number 4, a whole lot more was expected from Surya but he has so far failed to live upto expectations. He is already above 30 and it is important for him to make every opportunity count. Once Rahul returns, it is difficult to see Surya playing ahead of him. He sure is talented with a range of shots that defies conventional batting. Perhaps, he gets out in trying to manufacture a shot rather than just treating the delivery on its merit.
What about West Indies?
West Indies have a long way to catch up to the top nations. They just don’t seem to find the personnel. The do have some bowlers with decent pace but the batsmen are a major let-down. Over the years, so many have played for the West Indies that it is really difficult to point a single excellent batsman over the last 20 years. Unless they can find 4-5 good batsmen, West Indies will never be able to challenge the might of India or Australia or South Africa. They will have to remain happy with wins against the middle and lower ranked teams. The current Indian team is literally their D squad and yet West Indies did not manage to win a single game.
Gone are the days when a West Indian team demanded a full-fledged tour but now they are an afterthought.
Wrapping up a good outing for India in West Indies
There is no doubt about the bench-strength that India possess. The Indian board will have to ensure that this strength is utilised properly by constantly making them play against the lower ranked teams. It will ensure that they remain not only fit but they remain match-fit and more importantly, it will give them a feeling of having represented the country.