With CWC 2023 a year away, India test bench strength with varied ODI squads for NZ, Bangladesh tours

ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: India test bench strength with different ODI squads for New Zealand and Bangladesh tours eyeing World Cup 2023. Shikhar Dhawan will captain India in New Zealand and Rohit Sharma in Bangladesh series.

Dhawan to captain India on NZ tour and Rohit on Bangladesh (Images: ©Twitter/Getty)

With the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia set to conclude within two weeks from now, the focus of the teams will then shift towards the older form of white-ball cricket, i.e., the ODIs. We all know that in the recent years, the ODI format of the game has lost its prominence to T20Is, and the teams are playing 50-overs cricket very sparsely compared to the yesteryears.

India test bench strength and rotate players with a year to go for Cricket World Cup 2023

But unlike other teams, India have played ODIs relatively more in the past 12 months albeit with a side that has missed out on the regular members on most occasions, mostly due to other international commitments concerning the other formats. This has meant that the men in blue have tested many players for the same roles and the coming set of ODI games could be the best time once again to test the bench strength.

This could well prove to be a masterstroke in not only keeping players healthy before the Cricket World Cup 2023 scheduled to be held late next year in India, but also have direct replacement players ready in case any injury scare plagues a first choice player. Indeed, India’s team management has learnt a lesson or two from the recent injuries sustained by Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah just before T20 World Cup 2022.

A couple of days back, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee announced the T20I and ODI squads for India’s tour of New Zealand that is set to start just a few days after the conclusion of T20 World Cup 2022, and then for the ODI and Tests in Bangladesh.

The interesting thing concerning the ODI squads for both tours is that India have announced different squads for both these series with only a few players featuring on both these tours.

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Malik called up New Zealand and Bangladesh tour (Source: ©Getty Image)

Shikhar Dhawan to lead India in ODIs against New Zealand; Maiden call-ups for pacers Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik and Yash Dayal

In order to keep players fresh for the 50-overs mega event that is set to take place in India next year, the team management has rested senior players like skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami among others for the forthcoming New Zealand ODIs. Shikhar Dhawan is set to lead the team once again following his successful outings as a skipper in the last few series (against West Indies, Zimbabwe and South Africa).

Rishabh Pant will return to the squad to be Dhawan’s deputy; the team is largely the same that played against South Africa last month at home except the arrival of few debutants. Express pacer Umran Malik who impressed everyone in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), gets his maiden ODI call-up after a mediocre start to his T20I career.

Also making his first appearance in the national ODI squad is the talented left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh who is doing really well in the ongoing T20 World Cup for India. With Arshdeep, India are looking for a left-arm pace option which is proving to be an X-factor for the majority of teams.

India’s ODI squad for New Zealand series 2022: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen, Umran Malik

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Yash gets maiden national call for India tour of Bangladesh (Images: ©BCCI/IPL)

Rohit Sharma back as captain for Bangladesh ODIs along with other seniors; Yash Dayal gets an opportunity

India’s regular skipper Rohit Sharma will be back for the ODIs against Bangladesh to lead the squad. He will also be joined by Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja among others in the squad.

India are set to experiment with another newbie left-arm pacer Yash Dayal who played for Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2022, who has been picked for the Bangladesh ODIs. So, it is clear signs of things to come for India going ahead into Cricket World Cup 2023. Dayal played a significant role for GT in their triumphant IPL campaign taking 11 wickets in 9 games at less than 27.

So, India have been experimenting for a while now, and it is once again going to be an opportunity for the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav to give a good impression of themselves in the top to middle order. Except Iyer, the rest of batters find spots in only one of the two squads.

India’s ODI squad for Bangladesh Tour 2022: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Deepak Chahar, Yash Dayal

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Bishnoi finds no place in India squad for New Zealand and Bangladesh tour (Image ©BCCI)

No place for Ravi Bishnoi and Prithvi Shaw

Uncapped batters Rahul Tripathi and Rajat Patidar who have been travelling with the squad for a while, have been included in the full-strength ODI team to tour Bangladesh.

Ravichandran Ashwin who is part of the T20 World Cup team was not picked and in his place young off-spin all-rounder Washington Sundar gets a go for both the tours. It will be a crucial series for Sundar who is on a comeback trail from injury and a good show will do a world of good for him. Like him, pace bowling all-rounders Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar who are also part of both squads, will be eager to have great numbers against their names. One of the two can be a lower-order batting option for India come the world cup.

The major exclusions from the team have to be those of leggie Ravi Bishnoi who was dropped from the team that played against South Africa, and opener Prithvi Shaw who despite having a stellar domestic season has been overlooked yet again.

Ravi Bishnoi’s case clearly states the team is backing the pair of Kul-Cha (Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzuvendra Chahal) at the moment and the youngster may not be in the scheme of things at the present moment. Shaw too has not been in the reckoning for some time due to India’s packed top-order.

India last played an ODI series in New Zealand in 2020 when they lost the series 0-3 to the home side, while they last played an ODI series in Bangladesh back in 2015 when they lost 1-2 to the home side.

India will play three ODIs against New Zealand on November 25, 27 and 30 in Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch, respectively.

India will then play three ODIs against Bangladesh on December 4, 7 and 10 in Mirpur.

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