Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja has powerfully argued against the strategy of playing 7 batters ahead of the ODI series between India and Sri Lanka.
The Men in Blue played 5 batters along with 3 all-rounders in their 1-2 loss in ODIs to Bangladesh in their own backyard during the past month.
Senior performers Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul come back to the ODI fold after they were relaxed for the T20I leg against Sri Lanka last week. The hosts have as many as ten batting options, including 3 all-rounders, in their team.
Jadeja, who performed 196 ODIs for India in the period between 1992-2000, implied that India should play 5 bowlers in the ODI against Sri Lanka.
While choosing India’s playing XI on Cricbuzz, Jadeja clarified why choosing 7 or more batters in the team is not an ideal plan.
He said:
“You never use all seven batsmen. For no. 7 and No.8 numbers you will find 20 average. How many times does India win when your No.7 comes into play? And every time it comes into play it only gives you hope for the next World Cup. When we are 5-7 down it’s a different game. It’s an aggressive play.”
Jadeja further emphasized how India’s top 6 can push to a commendable run of 300 in an ODI inning.
He added:
“Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar, Shreyas Iyer, and Hardik at 6. They all average over 45-50. So that’s 300 runs on their good day. Like what happened in the last Twenty20 game (in Rajkot). You had seven batsmen, how much did you use?”
He added:
“If your Rohit Sharma can’t score, Virat Kohli can’t score, (and) Suryakumar can’t score. You think that No.7 will come and score.”
Captain @ImRo45 was all praise for youngsters @ShubmanGill & @ishankishan51 ahead of the #INDvSL ODI series starting tomorrow 👌🏻👌🏻@mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/vlZyeGpChP
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 9, 2023
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