Wasim Jaffer picks India’s playing XI for 1st ODI vs WI; Ravi Bishnoi makes the cut

Former cricketer Wasim Jaffer has included young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi in his India playing XI for the 1st ODI against West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

The Men in Blue will begin a new era under Rohit Sharma, who returns to the side after missing the entire South Africa tour. India will look to return to winning ways after a humiliating defeat against the Proteas.

Ahead of the series opener, Wasim Jaffer picked the playing XI he believes India should field. Taking to Twitter, the former opener wrote:

“My team for first ODI: Rohit (C), Mayank, Virat, Pant, Surya, Sundar, Thakur, D Chahar, Bishnoi, Siraj, Chahal. What’s yours?”

Mayank Agarwal, who was added to the ODI squad after Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad tested positive for COVID-19, will slot in with Rohit at the top-order. Agarwal, who has had dismal outings in five ODIs so far, will look to make the most of the opportunity.

Former captain Virat Kohli will slot in the middle-order alongside Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav. Shreyas Iyer, who also contracted the virus, has been ruled out.

Wasim Jaffer picked Washington Sundar, who missed out on the Proteas series with COVID-19, as the spin bowling all-rounder in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja. The young all-rounder from Tamil Nadu will look to make a mark and seal his berth in the limited-overs side after impressing in the red-ball format.

Jaffer advocated for the inclusion of Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar in the playing XI to strengthen the batting. Both have proved that they can shoulder responsibility in the lower-order, helping the top-order to play freely.

The 43-year-old backed India to play two leg-spinners in Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravi Bishnoi ahead of Kuldeep Yadav. The spotlight will be on dynamic spinner Bishnoi, who has already impressed in the IPL with an economy rate of under seven against both left and right-handers. He also boasts m a dot ball percentage of above 40.

Wasim Jaffer backed Mohammed Siraj to partner Shardul and Chahar ahead of Avesh Khan and Prasidh Krishna.

“Prithvi Shaw should have been in the squad” – Wasim Jaffer

Jaffer, who was associated with Punjab Kings in the IPL, believes young batter Prithvi Shaw should have made the cut in the ODI setup.

“Prithvi Shaw should have been in the squad,” Jaffer added.

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Shaw, who has 189 runs in six ODIs, had a breathtaking run-scoring spree last year. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy that took place in March last year, he amassed 827 runs in eight matches at a staggering average of 165.40, including four centuries and one fifty with the best score of an unbeaten 227.