IND vs WI: Rohit Sharma explains why India shuffled their batting line-up in 1st ODI amid WC preparations

Rohit Sharma-led India beat West Indies by five wickets in the series opener of the three ODIs, being held in the Caribbean island. With the 2023 ODI World Cup set to be held in October-November, in India, Rohit & Co. are now left with only a handful of ODIs in the run-up to the mega event at home. Thus, the series versus the lowly-ranked West Indies is crucial in their preparations. 

The Men in Blue stood tall and dominated proceedings in the first ODI, dismissing the Windies for a paltry 114 after opting to bowl first, and chased down the score in 22.5 overs. Ravindra Jadeja’s three-fer and Kuldeep Yadav’s 4 for 6 led the show for India before Ishan Kishan’s 52 and unbeaten cameos from Jadeja-Rohit took India past the finish line. 

During the run-chase, India shuffled their batting order as Ishan opened with Shubman Gill whereas Suryakumar Yadav, vice-captain Hardik Pandya, Shardul Thakur and Jadeja were also promoted. India’s two experienced campaigners such as Virat Kohli and Rohit were demoted and Hitman explained the reason behind the move. 

At the post-match presentation, Rohit revealed, “We wanted to give game time to the ODI guys who have come in, we will keep trying those things whenever possible. To restrict them to 115, we knew we could try these guys and give them a go. I don’t think they’ll get many chances like this.”

Rohit came out to bat at No. 7 whereas Kohli didn’t feature in the run-chase. On him batting at No. 7, the Indian captain pointed out, “I made my debut for India and was batting at number 7, reminded me of those days.”

With Rohit and Kohli experienced enough, India is focusing on giving their middle and lower-order batters enough chances — wherever available — in the run-up to the ODI WC, which starts on October 05. While only Ishan (52) made full use of batting at the top, India will be happy with other middle and lower-order batters also being exposed in the middle. They will hope for more such chances where they can experiment in the upcoming ODIs.