Mumbai: It’s been a turbulent year for India’s Test team with seniors asked to make way and their replacements good one day, poor the next. The T20 squad is more balanced and have had better results. And all energies should be focused on perfecting this format with a World Cup round the corner.
But the cricket calendar hinges on television revenue and because this is India, even bilateral ODIs have a high value riding on them. So, India and South Africa will face off in a three-match series. The ODI World Cup (Oct-Nov 2027) is so far away that the upcoming matches will be played for what they are – old-fashioned limited overs entertainers.
It’s a good thing the first match on Sunday is in Ranchi where the crowd is expected to show up anyway. Ranchi doesn’t get to host World Cup matches or to experience IPL showbiz. The city last hosted an ODI three years ago. The man who put the Jharkhand capital on the cricket map has been in and around the venue and hosting Indian players he knows for team dinners. “Agar MS Dhoni aayenge to crowd ka aur hamara excitement aur bhi badh jayega,” said KL Rahul, standing in as captain for Shubman Gill.
There will be enough fan frenzy anyway with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s presence. The two batting stars having been poster boys for long and now that their presence is infrequent, they are more sought after.
The parameters on which their selection will be judged will be vastly different though. Playing only ODIs with a plethora of talent who feature in other formats round the year, the two top order batters have left themselves open to the kind of scrutiny they have not faced for many years.
But with their second wicket 168-run partnership in the last ODI against Australia in Sydney, the duo has showed that in the twilight of their careers this might not be a bad idea. In three ODIs each against South Africa and New Zealand, separated by a T20I series, though they will have to do it all over again: show that they remain in peak mental, physical and technical shape.
“To have senior players makes the dressing room a lot more confident,” said Rahul about Rohit and Virat’s return. “They can help the team out. Having a settled team and similar faces helps the dressing room.”
The 50-over format is one Indian batters are the most adept at. Despite them playing this series without the newly appointed captain and deputy – Gill and Shreyas Iyer, there are solid replacements to fill in the void. At the top, Rohit will be joined by Yashasvi Jaiswal, who would have played a lot more ODIs by now than a solitary match in any other team. The only occasion Jaiswal was squeezed into the 11 was against England in Nagpur before the Champions Trophy, where he got out before getting in.
To replace Iyer at No.4 there are plenty of aspirants. Ruturaj Gaikwad looks likely to get a first crack ahead of Tilak Varma. But Rahul refused to rule out another possibility. “If Rishabh (Pant) is there, he will take the gloves,” he said.
The selectors drafting Pant back in the squad is an indication that his injury status hasn’t discouraged them from giving him a longer period of trial to cement his ODI place.
Another key competition is for the spin all-rounder. Ravindra Jadeja has replaced Axar Patel from the series in Australia. With Rahul confirming he will continue at No.6, don’t be surprised if one of Jadeja, Washington Sundar or Nitish Reddy is promoted as a floater at 5. Context or not, with so much competition for spots, the selectors will be glued to the series.
