(Cricket news) India defeated West Indies by 3 runs in the first ODI in what was a good performance by the visitors. At the toss the line-up was surprising to say the least. Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out of the 2 ODIs due to a knee injury. Shubman Gill opened the batting with Shikhar Dhawan while Sanju Samson was given the role of wicket-keeper who batted in the middle overs. Both Gill and Samson have been in the mix of playing for India for a while now and their selection is not completely shocking in any way but the players that were left out somewhat didn't make sense in a lot of ways.
Ishan Kishan has been a part of the ODI squad for a while now and he has even played a few games for India. He was in the recent squad for the England ODIs as well. India rested opener Rohit Sharma and middle order keeper-batter Rishabh Pant for the series. Ishan has played both the roles in ODIs before and hasn't been too disappointing. He should have definitely been ahead of Samson and Gill purely because Ishan has been in the squad when the others too haven't. He hasn't got enough opportunities and when he has he hasn't put in performances that were too disappointing. He was India's highest ranked T20 batter according to ICC rankings before the England series and he was dropped in favour of Rishabh Pant who was given a chance to open the innings for the first time in T20Is.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has also spent some time on the team India bench in ODIs and is yet to make his debut. He was the highest run getter in the Vijay Hazare trophy last year and should definitely get chances in this particular format. The pattern is not alien when it comes to the Indian team but it has started to happen more. One reason is that India have had to play more players due to the jam packed schedule and work-rate management. The other reason for Ishan Kishan being on the bench ahead of Gill and Samson may have something to do with his attitude and contributions while on the bench.
When Ravi Shastri's term as the head coach of the Indian team came to an end, he said multiple times that the selection committee has complete control and the coach as well as the captain don't get an official vote or say in selection things. He then highlighted that he was surprised and didn't agree with a few of the decisions notably in the 2019 World Cup. The selectors and the coach/captain may have a different idea and/or player preferences. The selectors may feel that Ishan Kishan is ahead of both Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson in the pecking order while Rahul Dravid and his team don't agree with it. It has happened before when KL Rahul was selected in the World Cup squad as backup opener which was confirmed by the selectors but Ravi Shastri and Virat played him in the middle order ahead of Vijay Shankar and Dinesh Karthik who were selected for that position. There could be clarity on this by Rahul Dravid himself when he addresses the media after the series as usual but till then one can only assume things.
Also read: India win last ball thriller to take 1-0 series lead against West Indies
