IND vs WI: Wasim Jaffer Picks India's Playing XI for 1st ODI; No place for Shardul, Chahal

Team India will begin their preparation for the upcoming two mega events- Asia Cup and ICC ODI World Cup- with a three-match ODI series against West Indies. Ahead of the opening ODI, former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer picked India’s ideal playing XI as per his preference. The match will be held at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on July 27.

Jaffer has kept Shubman Gill as the opening partner of captain Rohit Sharma, while Ruturaj Gaikwad was also there in the squad as an opening option. Virat Kohli will come in his usual No 3 position. In the wicketkeeping role, Jaffer preferred Sanju Samson over Ishan Kishan. Samson has earned a call-up to India’s ODI squad after a prolonged period. According to Jaffer, the Kerala batter would follow Kohli in the Indian batting order.

Interestingly, Wasim Jaffer shuffled the positions of middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav and all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Both players will don the Indian kit for the first time after coming off the Indian Premier League (IPL) in May. Jaffer kept Pandya up in the order after Samson, while SKY was the No 6 batter. Besides Pandya, Jaffer roped in two spin-bowling all-rounders- Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.

There is a section of Indian fans, who are awaiting Yuzvendra Chahal’s return to India’s ODI squad. But as the sole wrist-spinner, Wasim Jaffer picked Kuldeep Yadav over Chahal. The two fast bowlers of Jaffer’s eleven were Mohammad Siraj and Umran Malik.

Earlier during an interaction with ESPNCricinfo, Wasim Jaffer discussed why Ishan Kishan could lose his place to Sanju Samson in the West Indies series. The cricketer-turned-pundit reckoned that Kishan might have to be sidelined as Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill would play as the openers. So this would be a great opportunity for Samson to prove his calibre ahead of the most-important ODI World Cup.

“For Sanju Samson, I feel he might get the opportunity first in this series. Because Ishan Kishan bats top of the order and they have got Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill there,” Jaffer said.