Former England captain Michael Vaughan has reacted to India’s playing XI for the opening ODI of the three-match series against the World Champions England on Tuesday (March 23) in Pune.
However, Vaughan said Team India picked a “powerful” squad for the first ODI against England, but he was surprised by Suryakumar Yadav’s non-selection for the series opener on Tuesday.
He further pointed out that Rishabh Pant may have been given a breather, but the hosts should have picked their latest batting sensation Suryakumar in the first ODI against Eoin Morgan’s team.
Suryakumar made a sensational start to his career in the recent five-match T20I series, hitting a whirlwind 31-ball 57 in his very first outing before a breezy cameo of 17-ball 32 in the final game.
Vaughan told Cricbuzz, “India are still powerful. But I am surprised by the team selection. Rishabh Pant has played pretty much non-stop for a long period of time. So, maybe they gave him a bit of a breather, it's not a bad thing for him. Suryakumar Yadav is who I would have played.”
He continued, “On the back of his tremendous T20I performances, I would have gone with the ride and played him again. I think it's so important that when a player comes in and sets the lights like he did, you carry on with him. I think he's such a good player, he can easily adapt to the 50-over game. So, I am surprised India have gone without Suryakumar, but it is still a powerful line-up.”
The commentator also believes that the youngster Shubman Gill should have been given some time in the middle but reckoned the hosts would be very tough to beat for England in the first ODI.
He signed off by saying, “Look at that batting line-up, look at that expertise. Big game for Shikhar Dhawan with younger players coming in. There is no Shubman Gill playing. A wonderful talent, and maybe he should have been given some time in the middle as well.
But whichever Indian side is put up on Indian surface, you know you have to play extremely well to beat them.”
