'I Don't Think..'- Mohammad Kaif's Remark on Senior Players' Selection For West Indies Tour
Mohammed Kaif backed senior players' selection for WI ODIs [Source: Twitter]
During an interaction on 'Virtual Encounters' on DD India, former cricketer Mohammad Kaif expressed his opinion on India fielding a full-strength squad for the upcoming series against the West Indies. He believed that India did not have enough opportunities to try out new players in this series, especially in the shortest format of the game.
Kaif acknowledged that the Test and ODI squads consisted mostly of experienced players, which is understandable given the importance of those formats. However, he pointed out that it has been a recent trend for India to rest some of the veterans and experiment with younger players in the T20 format.
According to Kaif, the series against the West Indies could have been an ideal opportunity for India to test new players and provide them with exposure at the international level. He expressed his concern that by fielding a full-strength squad, the chances for young and aspiring cricketers to showcase their talent and gain valuable experience might be limited.
"You have the Asia Cup and the World Cup coming up, so I don't think you have a place to try new players out. You can have one or two here and there like Yashasvi Jaiswal has been playing well and he is in the squad."
Kaif's opinion suggests that he believes in the importance of giving opportunities to promising talents, especially in T20 cricket, where India has been known to rotate their squad to explore different player combinations and build depth in the team.
In addition to his thoughts on giving opportunities to new players, Mohammad Kaif also emphasised the importance of senior players staying in touch with the game to maintain their form for major tournaments.
"Someone like Rinku Singh can be added but apart from that, you have to have players in form when the big tournaments come. When the big matches come, you have to have your senior players ready, which means they need to keep playing."
In the upcoming Test and ODI series against the West Indies, Mohammad Shami is the only senior player who has been given rest. Additionally, Cheteshwar Pujara has been dropped from the Test side, creating an opportunity for either Yashasvi Jaiswal or Ruturaj Gaikwad to potentially make their debut in the first game.
The tour is set to commence on July 12 where India will play the first Test Match against the home team at Windsor Park, Dominica.
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