Jaiswal to open, Gill replaced; Kuldeep Yadav gets a place – 3 changes India must make in Sydney to avoid a whitewash
India are under pressure ahead of the final ODI match against Australia in Sydney. Here are some changes that might help them evade a whitewash.
The third ODI between India and Australia is slated to take place on the 25th of October at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Shubman Gill stares at an embarrassing start to his ODI captaincy career as a defeat in the final game would lead to a whitewash.
In the first two matches, the Indian team has failed to gel as a team and present a challenge to the hosts. There were multiple gaps that were noticed in the performances, and especially in the selection of the team.
If India aim to win the final ODI and walk away with their heads held high from Australia, here are three changes that the management can think of -
1. Prasidh Krishna in place of Washington Sundar
India need a specialist quick in their line-up who hits a hard length and has variations in his repertoire. Prasidh Krishna will bring in his height, a steepling hit-the-deck angle suitable for the Australian pitches, and his ability to pick up wickets in the death overs with his variations.
The exclusion of Washington Sundar makes sense because India have been concentrating too much on adding depth to their batting. His exclusion with Krishna in the line-up will add flexibility to the team’s bowling. Besides, ODI cricket demands careful innings planning rather than ruthless hitting like T20. So, the insulation of an extra batter is a thing India can do without in the final match.
2. Kuldeep Yadav in place of Harshit Rana
Harshit Rana impressed with his batting in the last match at Adelaide. However, in the two matches so far, Rana has bowled 12 overs and has conceded 86 runs in them while picking up only two wickets. His claim to a spot in the playing XI is his ability to pick up wickets with the new ball, which he has failed to do so far in this tour.
Excluding Rana and bringing in Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI will give India a genuine wicket-taker in the middle overs. The left-arm wrist spinner has a typical knack of hunting down batters in the most crucial phase of an ODI match. The presence of Yadav will allow India to take an advantage and put themselves in the driver’s seat during the game.
3. Yashasvi Jaiswal added; Shubman Gill at 4
India might drop one more of their all-rounders in Nitish Reddy or Axar Patel, and include Yashasvi Jaiswal in that slot. Jaiswal can open the innings with Rohit Sharma, bringing about the left-hand-right-hand combination in the opening slot.
This brings in the dilemma of where the captain of the team, Shubman Gill, will bat. The right-handed batter bats at number four in Test cricket and can be tried in that slot in the ODIs, too. His presence will give solidity to the Indian middle-order and also keep Gill away from the new ball, against which he has visibly struggled in the Australia tour so far.
India’s Playing XI with the three changes
Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill (c), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel/Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh.
