Sri Lanka vs India 2017: Expected Changes In Indian Team For The 5th ODI

With an eye on the next World Cup, Team India has made it crystal-clear that experimentation with the team combination will continue till the next 18 months or so until a solid team is being formed. The team-management has already shown that it will not refrain from taking bold calls in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka. Kedar Jadhav was tried out as a middle-order batsman but after the Maharashtra star failed twice in a row, he was replaced by Manish Pandey and the latter justified the decision by scoring a brilliant half-century.

The series is all done and dusted now as far as the outcome is concerned with the Men in Blue winning the first four matches of the five-game series and so with one game remaining, the team will be keen to do some more experiments. Now considering that the top-order and the pace-bowling department is very strong at the moment with Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli going great guns with the bat and the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah doing well with the ball, it is very much unlikely that the combinations will be changed. Moreover, with Axar Patel doing well and Kuldeep Yadav also impressing in his first game of the series, the team might go in with the same combination of spinners.

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So the only area where the team looks likely to make a change is the the middle-order or more precisely the number 4 spot. With Yuvraj Singh not a part of the squad, KL Rahul has been given the responsibility of batting at number 4 but the Test opener has failed to make his chances count, scoring 4, 17 and 7 in 3 games. And with the middle-order looking fragile at the moment, India can try out Ajinkya Rahane at Rahul’s place.

Sri Lanka vs India 2017: Expected Changes In Indian Team For The 5th ODI
Rahane performed brilliantly against Windies

After not getting a single match during the Champions Trophy, Rahane proved his worth by finishing the five-match series against Windies as its highest scorer, amassing 336 runs at an average of over 67 with the help of three half-centuries and one century and deservedly bagged the Man of the Series award.  India has already suffered three successive middle-order collapses and Rahane’s inclusion might sort out that problem in the upcoming fifth ODI on Sunday (September 3).

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