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Follow UsAfter a great 2023 ODI World Cup, in which he scored 530 runs in 11 matches, Shreyas Iyer found himself in a tussle with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after allegedly refusing to play domestic cricket for Mumbai. After the fiasco, he was axed from the central contract list and soon found himself out of the Test side after being injured.
He is also all but completely out of the T20I picture despite leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the title in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL).
However, ODIs have always been Iyer’s forte, and he still very much remains a starter in 50-over cricket. Come the Sri Lanka series, the 29-year-old will be looking to further strengthen his hold in the ODI set-up.
With Rishabh Pant returning and Riyan Parag entering the fray, Iyer now has two new 'direct' competitors who will also be eyeing that No.4 slot. Thus, the onus will be on the right-hander to continue to amass runs and keep hold of his place.
Rishabh Pant, who really found his footing in the ODI format before his car accident, will be playing his first 50-over game since November 30, 2022.
Testing himself in the ODIs after a 21-month gap, Pant would be expected to get back to his best right from the start, as he did in IPL 2024 and T20 World Cup 2024.
16 out of the left-hander’s 26 innings in ODIs have come at number four, but with Iyer already a likely lock in that position, and with KL Rahul having made the No.5 slot his own, Pant might have to settle for the No.6 slot for the time being.
That being said, considering how much the 26-year-old’s been backed in the past couple of months, it also might not be a surprise if he ends up starting ahead of Iyer due to his left-handedness.
But with the Champions Trophy not too far away, Pant will have to start pushing his case from the get go, regardless of where he bats. These three ODIs will hence be huge for him from a personal context.
Should there be a possible vacancy at No.6, that might open the door for India to potentially blood in Riyan Parag in ODI cricket as well. The Gautam Gambhir-led management trusted Parag in the T20Is, playing him in all three games while making him bowl his full quota of overs twice. The early impressions are that Gambhir & Co. seem to be looking at Parag as a possible project player of sorts due to his multi-dimensional nature.
Parag is yet to make his debut in ODIs but in 20 List A matches since January 2022, the right-handed batter smashed 776 runs at an average of 64.27 and a strike rate of 124.2.
During these games, the 22-year-old mostly batted at number four (11 innings), but his best performance came at number six, where Parag scored 340 runs at an average of 113.3 in four innings. His strike rate (131.3) was also better as a finisher compared to a middle order batter (121.6).
In the absence of Hardik Pandya, playing Parag at No.6 might be an interesting way to blood the 22-year-old.
Axar Patel & Washington Sundar
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed that Ravindra Jadeja has been rested, but still, these three ODIs might present both Washington Sundar and Axar Patel to push for that No.7 / No.8 slot in the ODI side.
Axar has already established himself as a starter in T20Is, and he will now be looking to go one step further and really push Jadeja in ODIs as well. The 30-year-old, who played 11 ODIs in 2023, will really push his case to be a starter in 50-over cricket with a strong series here.
His stocks are at an all-time high and the timing is also ideal from his perspective.
At the same time, however, Washington Sundar is another person who will be eyeing that No.7 / No.8 slot. Sundar has so far had an outstanding 2024 with the ball in hand in T20Is, having picked 13 wickets at an economy of 5.93. He was the Player of the Series in the T20Is against Zimbabwe last month.
The 24-year-old will also be trying to push his case if he gets an opportunity.
There will be spotlight on one pacer in particular, and that’s Arshdeep Singh.
The Punjab pacer might have cracked the code in the shortest format of the game, but he has yet to break the door down in ODI cricket. In fact, he’s barely gotten opportunities.
With Shami on the sidelines and form by his side, Arshdeep has an opportunity to impress the new management and make him a regular in the ODI set-up, at least in the fifteen, if not in the starting XI.
The 25-year-old notably has impressive numbers in List A cricket, having picked up 31 wickets in 21 innings at an average of 26.9 and an economy rate of 4.7.
He has already taken up Mohammed Siraj’s spot in the T20I setup. Arshdeep will now be looking to do the same in the ODIs, where he’ll be looking to outshine Siraj and force himself into the first XI ahead of the Champions Trophy next year.
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