India stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan will be leading the Men in Blue in the first match of the three-ODI series against West Indies at the Queen’s Park Oval ground in Port of Spain, Trinidad on July 22, 2022.
Ahead of the match, it was reported that ace all-rounder and vice-captain of the team for this series, Ravindra Jadeja might be doubtful for the first match given that he had some issues with his knee and might miss the first match or even the entire series to recover from the same. Jadeja had picked a knee injury during the third ODI against England.
Now Shikhar Dhawan has provided an update on Ravindra Jadeja, stating that the all-rounder has a niggle and is doubtful to take the field in the first game.
"Right now, he has a bit of a niggle so we don't know whether he will be ready or not for the first ODI,” said Dhawan at a pre-match press conference.
Talking about the overall bowling combination, Dhawan said, “Other than that, Siraj is there, Prasidh is there, and we have got amazing fast bowling. In spin, Axar Patel is there and Yuzvendra Chahal is there, we have a good bunch of bowling unit so it will be very impactful."
Dhawan will be captaining India for the second time, after leading the team against Sri Lanka in July last year.
Talking about his leadership, Dhawan said, “I am quite excited to lead the side, whenever you get an opportunity to lead the youngsters, I share my experiences with them, I always love to share my experiences and bring impact in their games. Everyone has the skill, but it is also about the mental aspect and hence I share my experiences."
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The 36-year-old also said that the overall team combination is good as the team has experienced players as well as young talent in the squad.
He said: "We were not able to train because of rain but everyone is excited. There are youngsters in the team and they have done well in the UK, so not training here will not impact them much. It is a quite balanced side, we have both experience and youth. Suryakumar Yadav for example is very experienced, he is young in terms of international cricket, but the kind of maturity he has, Shreyas and Shardul are also playing for a long time."
(FirstCricket inputs)
