Best U25 ODI XI for India

The Indian ODI team has been on a phenomenal winning run ever since Virat Kohli assumed the role as a full-time skipper in the limited overs formats. The team has won 26 ODIs out of 35 with just 8 losses during this period. The dominating performances in all the departments of the game have meant that Team India has emerged victorious in nine consecutive bilateral series. The only area of concern despite such dominance is the middle order which has seen a lot of changes in the personnel without giving the players a longer run to prove their mettle.

The ‘A’ teams as well as the U19 teams have also performed well in the recent times with the youngsters staking a claim to be inducted into the senior team. The likes of Shardul Thakur, Shreyas Iyer and Mohammad Siraj have represented Team India in the shorter formats after impressing on the ‘A’ tours. The U19 team under the leadership of Prithvi Shaw lifted the World Cup for a record fourth time winning all the matches comprehensively with skipper Shaw, Shubman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Anukul Roy being the key performers. Thus, the bench strength has developed to a great extent and the youngsters have performed whenever they got the opportunity in the national side.

Here, let us take a look at the Best XI for India which consists players who are below the age of 25 years. The team is a good mix of the current squad members, fringe players and a few U19 talents.

Openers:

Prithvi Shaw has had a good beginning in First Class cricket

Prithvi Shaw (Age 18 years)

Prithvi Shaw, the technically sound batsman from Mumbai, became a big star after leading the nation to the U19 World Cup victory for a record fourth time. He had a good tournament scoring 261 runs at an average of 65.25. In the domestic circuit, he scored a century on both the Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy debut. Shaw has a great record in the First Class cricket averaging 56.52 with five centuries in just nine games. He got a couple of fifties in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and will be a contender to secure a berth in the upcoming ‘A’ tours.

Shubman Gill (Age 18 years)

Shubman Gill was the leading run scorer for India and second overall during the U19 World Cup. He amassed 372 runs at an average of 124.00 with an impressive strike rate of 112.38 and was named the Player of the tournament. The batting style with a resemblance of Virat Kohli and his ability to play according to the demands of the match situation were the talking points during the event. He made his First Class debut before the World Cup and scored his maiden ton in just the second game. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he got a century against the eventual champions Karnataka to secure a victory for Punjab.

Middle Order:

Consistent domestic performances rewarded Shreyas with a place in Indian team

Shreyas Iyer (Age 23 years)

Shreyas Iyer has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit since his First Class debut in 2014-15. He was the biggest contributor in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy triumph in 2015-16 season amassing a whopping 1321 runs. Representing India A, Shreyas played a match winning knock of 140 not out in the final of the “A” tri-series in South Africa and was also impressive against New Zealand A. He was thus rewarded with a place in the Indian limited-overs squads where he displayed his talent with a couple of fifties against Sri Lanka. Shreyas has played some aggressive knocks in the IPL and also won the “Emerging Player of the Year” award in 2015 season.

Rishabh Pant (Wicket Keeper) (Age 20 years)

Rishabh Pant came into limelight during the Under-19 World Cup in 2016 smashing the fastest half-century of the tournament. He has played some attacking knocks in the two IPL seasons and also displayed his skills in the longer format amassing 972 runs in the Ranji Trophy season of 2016-17, which included a triple century against Maharashtra. He got an opportunity to represent India in T20I format, but, could not perform well enough to secure a place in the middle order. Pant had a poor Ranji Trophy season in 2017-18 which pushed him back in the queue but he came back strongly with a stellar show in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy slamming second-fastest T20 ton in 32 balls, just behind Chris Gayle’s record hundred in 30 deliveries. He continued his form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy that followed and made a comeback to the Indian team for the Nidahas Trophy.

Deepak Hooda (Captain) (Age 22 years)

Deepak Hooda came into prominence for his ability to hit big sixes during the IPL in 2015 while playing for Rajasthan Royals. He has been a consistent performer for Baroda in the domestic circuit averaging 50.18 in First Class cricket and 42.70 in List A format. He had a great season amassing 277 runs in four matches in the Ranji Trophy while also scoring 352 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in seven games. In addition to his batting, the ability to bowl decent off-spin makes him a contender for the middle order slot in the Indian ODI squad. He has been on the selectors’ radar recently having being included in the Indian squad for the T20Is against Sri Lanka in December and also the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka.

All-Rounders:

Hardik Pandya has become a prominent member for the shorter formats

Hardik Pandya (Age 24 years)

Hardik Pandya has established himself as the premier all-rounder for Team India in all the three formats of the game in the recent times. The ability to hit big sixes and shift the momentum of the match quickly has made him an important asset to the team. Pandya has also given a glimpse of his potential to play according to the situation, when he played a mature knock against Australia at Chennai, building partnership with Mahendra Singh Dhoni after a top-order collapse. He has been the joint second-highest wicket taker for India since his debut providing the team with vital breakthroughs. The Baroda all-rounder has been brilliant in the field too with his catch to dismiss Martin Guptill at Delhi and the run-out of Hashim Amla at Centurion being the highlights.

Axar Patel (Age 24 years)

Axar Patel has been a constant feature of the Indian squads for the limited-overs formats ever since he delivered splendid performances in the IPL in 2014, which won him the “Emerging Player of the Year” award. Though his chances to be a part of the playing XI were limited, the Gujarat all-rounder performed decently picking 45 wickets in 38 ODIs with a very good economy rate of 4.43. He was the top-ranked Indian spinner for some time featuring in the Top-10 of the ICC ODI Rankings for the bowlers. With the bat, Axar averages 48.45 in First Class cricket and has also played useful cameos for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL. However, in the international cricket, he has not yet displayed his potential with the bat as the batting opportunities are scarce.

Washington Sundar (Age 18 years)

Washington Sundar came into prominence with impressive performances with the ball during the IPL 2017 for Rising Pune Supergiant. He had a very good economy rate of 6.16 rpo and was particularly exceptional in the qualifier and the final with the spells of 4-0-16-3 and 4-0-13-0 respectively. Sundar continued with his brilliant performances picking 11 wickets and also scoring important runs in the Duleep Trophy final. In a warm-up game against touring Australia, he was the pick of the bowlers dismissing Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell. Washington got a chance to represent India in both ODI and T20I when the selectors rested the regular members for the limited-overs formats against Sri Lanka. He is also a part of the Indian team for the Nidahas Trophy and has performed well in the three games.

Bowlers:

Jasprit Bumrah is the top-ranked ODI bowler in the ICC Rankings

Kuldeep Yadav (Age 23 years)

Kuldeep Yadav became the first left-arm wrist spinner to represent the nation and immediately made an impact at the international arena. Since his ODI debut against the Windies in June, Kuldeep has formed a potent pair along with Yuzvendra Chahal dominating the opposition with their variations. He has picked 39 wickets in just 20 ODIs and was the leading wicket-taker in the recent series in South Africa with 17 wickets in 6 matches. He also became just the third Indian to get the hat-trick in ODIs when he got it against Australia at the Eden Gardens to turn the match in India’s favour. In Test cricket too, Kuldeep played an important role in India’s win at Dharamsala on his debut. The rare bowling style and the ability to have such a great control over it make Kuldeep Yadav an X-factor for Team India.

Jasprit Bumrah (Age 24 years)

Jasprit Bumrah has become a great asset to the Indian team in the limited overs format with his effective fast bowling during all the stages of the game. He has been particularly impressive during the slog overs using different variations and his partnership with Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been an important factor for India’s stupendous run recently. Jasprit has a stellar record in the ODIs and T20Is snaring 64 and 41 wickets in just 37 and 34 matches respectively. In the ICC Bowling Rankings, he is ranked No.1 in ODIs and No.5 in T20Is. Bumrah has delivered some great match winning spells with the bowling efforts against New Zealand in the series deciders of both the ODIs and T20Is being the highlights. He has also shown his potential in Test cricket during South Africa tour and will be an important member of the Test side in the upcoming overseas tours.

Mohammed Siraj (Age 24 years)

Mohammed Siraj had a great Ranji season in 2016-17 when he was the third leading wicket-taker with 41 wickets in 9 matches. He was picked up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the IPL and he gave an account of his talent again with 10 wickets in just 6 matches. Siraj was thus selected for the India A tour of South Africa where he performed well and made his debut in T20I format against New Zealand. Siraj was expensive in the couple of outings in the national colours and was subsequently dropped for the series against South Africa. However, he came back strongly in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy recently. Siraj was the leading wicket-taker in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with 23 wickets in just 7 matches which included three five-wicket hauls. These performances earned him a recall to the Indian squad for the Nidahas Trophy.