The Indian team has been ranked no 2 in ODI rankings and has found immense success under the captainship of MS Dhoni. Even though the Indian team has found huge success over the years in the One day arena still some question mark prevails over some cricketers. What are the changes that can be made in the ongoing ODI series versus Bangladesh ?
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and VIrat Kohli have cemented their places in the top order quite comfortably in the ODI side. Their contributions has been immense over the years for the success of the Indian ODI side with their match winning performances. Dhawan who struggled quite a lot in the tour of Australia, found his game when it mattered the most and delivered during the world cup and had a pretty successful world cup there by cementing his place in the ODI side.
Changes that should be made in the playing eleven :
With top three batsman performing on a consistent basis, the no 4 position seems to be worrying India at the moment. Rahane who tasted huge success in the test arena has found it difficult to get going in the ODI format. Rahane has scored only two centuries in the 55 matches he played at an average of 30.63 which is below par by his standards. However, Rahane found success as an opening batsman by scoring two centuries at the top. But as a no 4 batsman it has been a difficult going for him and he didn’t come up with great performances in the world cup either apart from the half-century he made against the South Africans. Rotating the strike in the middle overs is the key in ODI format and Rahane has failed to do that on multiple occasions in the crucial phases of the game which was has let him down so far. On the other hand Ambati Rayudu has been a successful player for India in his short career so far. In the 25 matches he played, Rayudu averages 45.67 with one century and five half centuries. Replacing Rahane with Rayudu could be a good option in the current Indian squad as Rayudu has shown promise in the short ODI career he had so far.
Another huge talking point is the place of Ravindra Jadeja in the playing eleven. Jadeja who undergone a treatment for his shoulder injury before the start of the world cup has been inconsistent with his performance. When he has been decent enough with the ball, his batting has become a complete let down for India. With enough chances given to Jadeja he has been underperforming by his standards so far. Axar Patel or Stuart Binny can be the possible replacements for Jadeja. Binny has fond memories against Bangladesh as he claimed the best bowling figures for an Indian bowler in the ODI series played between these two in 2014. So these two might be ringing the alarm bells for Jadeja for the place in the playing eleven.
The bowling department has been a huge concern for India for some years now. Although, the bowling unit looked completely different in the World cup by creating some records, they failed to perform on consistent basis. Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami and Mohit Sharma were the successful bowlers in the world cup for India. With Shami being left out of the side due to a Knee injury, and Mohit who looked all over the place in the first match against Bangladesh, Dhawal Kulkarni could be a good replacement in the playing eleven as he adds some more pace to the bowling department. Mohit was successful in the Australian conditions with useful bowling conditions, where as in the flat sub continent wickets he has failed to deliver.