India’s three-match ODI series against the West Indies is all set to get underway on Sunday (September 27) at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, marking the start of the roadmap toward the 2027 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in Africa.
Ahead of the series opener, former cricketer Mohammad Kaif has advocated for Yashasvi Jaiswal to take the No. 4 spot in India’s playing XI. The position opened up because regular No. 4, Shreyas Iyer, is currently leading India at the Asian Games.
According to Kaif, India could bat Jaiswal – who is currently seen as a backup opener for Rohit Sharma –in the middle order as it is important to give him game time.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif proposed a lineup accommodating both Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad while keeping the settled opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill intact.
"I think you can play Yashasvi Jaiswal at No.4 in this series. After Rohit goes, he will open anyway. You can shuffle in white-ball. Rohit and Gill can open, Virat at three, Jaiswal at four as there is no Shreyas. Gaikwad can bat at five, Rahul at six, Jadeja at seven, and then Nitish Reddy and Kuldeep Yadav, followed by the fast bowlers. You can set both Jaiswal and Gaikwad in this series. It is always up and down in white-ball, so play Jaiswal at four. I think it should be a straightforward call, actually," Kaif said.
With the Asian Games in Japan running from September 24 to October 3, clashing directly with all three West Indies ODIs, the likes of Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah were unavailable for selection. This forced the selectors to consider alternatives.
Punjab batting all-rounder Naman Dhir and Jammu and Kashmir seamer Auqib Nabi earned their maiden ODI call-ups. Kishan’s absence opened the window for Dhruv Jurel’s inclusion as a backup wicketkeeper-batter behind KL Rahul.
With Axar and Sundar unavailable, veteran spin all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja regained his spot in the 50-over format. In Bumrah’s absence, Mohammed Siraj will spearhead a relatively new-look pace attack featuring Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, and Nabi.
Kaif also questioned India's squad prioritization strategy during the overlapping schedules of the West Indies ODIs and the Asian Games.
"I was looking at the teams for the Asian Games, and many of them have sent new players. We are not prioritising ODIs here but looking at the Asian Games. All our main players are there. Other nations have sent young teams, so is winning the gold not an important thing for them? We want to win the gold while other teams are looking to groom players or not giving this so much importance?," he asked.
"It is a good thing to want to win. But because the West Indies are here and you have only limited ODIs before the World Cup, why have we sent the best team to the Asian Games ahead of ODIs? I cannot understand this," Kaif added.
India's ODI squad for the West Indies series: Shubman Gill [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul [VC], Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Naman Dhir.
