India vs West Indies 2018: 4 Indian players who can consolidate their place in the team during ODI series

#4. Yuzvendra Chahal

Chahal - Team India's wicket-taking option in the middle overs

Kuldeep Yadav’s wrist-spin twin Yuzvendra Chahal is another player who would be anxious to consolidate his position in the team in the one-day series against the West Indies.

Compared to Kuldeep Yadav, Chahal had a quite Asia Cup where he took 6 wickets. The Asian batsmen who were quite adept to spin managed to get on top of his bowling. But Chahal has proved time and again that he could come back into the game even after the initial thrashing.

In the final of the Asia Cup against Bangladesh, he went for 19 runs in his first two overs. After that, he was taken out of the attack. But he came back strongly to finish with respectable figures of 1 for 31 in 8 overs.

In 31 one-day matches, Chahal has taken 51 wickets at a good economy rate of 4.68. Unlike Kuldeep, Chahal bowls flat and is a skiddy customer. He is a safe bowler to go to even in the first powerplay overs.

Kuldeep and Chahal have made use of the opportunities that have come their way. The results of their combined onslaughts have been quite remarkable. Now it is time for both the wrist-spinners to consolidate their place in the Indian team during the West Indies series.

The presence of Jadeja in the team would put additional pressure on Chahal to perform. With the World Cup just 8 months away, the team management is unsure whether to go in with 2 or 3 spinners to England. In case the team management decides to take the horses for courses approach, Chahal might be the casualty.

To Chahal’s credit, he is a confident cricketer who believes in his abilities. The presence of West Indies as the opposition should improve his chances of success. If anything, he should improve his fielding.

Chahal would be pleased to take as many wickets against the West Indies to boost his confidence and to improve his standing in the team.

With just 13 matches to go for India before the World Cup, this West Indies series with 5 matches assumes overriding importance for the above 4 players to strengthen their position in the team.