VVS Laxman, the National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief and coach of the Indian team playing ODI series against South Africa has said that selectors could face a dilemma going into the 2023 World Cup due to the wide range of talent that is available.
The team playing the ODI series can be called as a second string side as the main players are off to Australia for T20I World Cup. However, this side is not devoid of big cricket stars. Team led by Shikhar Dhawan has the likes of Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, Deepak Chahar and many other noticeable names. All these players have showcased their calibre quite a few times and thus deserve a spot in the Indian playing eleven in all matches across formats.
ALSO READ: 1st ODI: Sanju Samson Heroics in Vain as South Africa Beat India by 9 Runs to Take 1-0 Lead
On the same, Laxman said, “We have a good bunch of cricketers, they are all looking forward to the series, the competition between them is good, we are spoiled for choices considering the amount of talent we have. It will be difficult for the selectors to get the right team going into the 2023 50-over World Cup."
“All the youngsters are doing well, they know that they will not get too many opportunities once the main players return, but this is a chance to perform well and keep themselves in the hunt when the strongest side is being picked, " he added.
India lost the first ODI to South Africa by nine runs on Thursday (October 6) in Lucknow. Iyer and Samson smashed power-hitting half-centuries with the latter playing heroic innings of unbeaten 86 off 63 balls. Samson had almost won the match for India however the penultimate over costed them.
In the 19th over, Samson didn’t get the chance to face any ball as Kagiso Rabada restricted Avesh Khan to score anything constructive for the first five deliveries. Following which, India needed 30 runs from the last over and Samson tried hard to achieve it but only managed to collect 20 off it.
Now, the second match of the series will be played in Ranchi on October 9 after which the third and final ODI will take place in Delhi on October 11.
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