Hanuma Vihari feels India are not sure about their batting line-up with a few months left for the World Cup.
Speaking at the toss, Hardik revealed that skipper Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli have been rested for the game to provide an opportunity for youngsters.
Sanju Samson and Akshar Patel, the two players who missed the opening ODI a couple of days back, replaced Rohit and Kohli in the XI.
However, the move to rest the two senior-most players didn’t go down well with India's Test specialist Hanuma Vihari, who feels the Men in Blue are not sure about their batting line-up with a few months remaining for the ODI World Cup.
"It (the changes) shows that India are not sure about the batting order yet. Surya has not performed really well in the ODI format, unlike his performances in the T20Is. So they are looking to get an answer for the middle-order slot if KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer don't recover. That's the reason. The changes are evident,” Vihari said while speaking on JioCinema.
"I am not a big fan (changes). You need certain players playing while running into the World Cup. India are not sure about the batting line-up, it's very clear," he added.
Vihari also pointed out that Akshar getting the nod ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal as the third spinner suggests that India are looking to lengthen their batting line-up.
While Chahal is part of the 16-member Indian ODI squad, he wasn’t given a chance in the first ODI as well. Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav were picked in the series opener and the two spinners claimed seven wickets between them to script India's five-wicket win.
"And Akshar Patel has been picked ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal. That shows they have lengthened the batting line-up. In the World Cup when the pitches start to turn, they might prefer Akshar ahead of Chahal (for 3rd spinner)," Vihari remarked.