3 Changes That India Should Made In Their ODI Team After Series Loss Against Sri Lanka

It would not be wrong to say that after winning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, no one thought that the Indian team would lose a series against the Sri Lanka team, who were going through their worst form for the last 2 years, where they have failed to qualify for the semi-finals of 2 ICC events i.e 2023 and 2024. However, after being defeated by Men in Blue in the T20I series, the Island nation made an incredible comeback in the 50 overs format by managing to tie the first match and winning 2 back-to-back matches against the number 1 team in the world. 

It was only possible by playing better than the Indian side, who are coming after getting a lot of appreciation when they ended the title drought of 10 long years by winning the T20 World Cup under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma.

Irrespective of that, the Indian team took the neighbouring team lightly after becoming World Champions, where they remained the undefeated team throughout the tournament. Despite having senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul in the playing XI, Men in Blue failed to win even a single match of the OD Series, this has raised several questions about Rohit Sharma and CO. who will be seen playing in ICC Champions trophy in 2025 under the same conditions in Pakistan or Sri Lanka if they ignore to go Pakistan due to security reasons. Through this article, we will talk about 3 probable changes that the Indian team might be doing before heading to the next ODI series.

1. Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya Returns

Heading to the next ODI series, the Indian team management might be calling star all-rounders of the Men in Blue, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, back after an average performance by Shivam Dube, who failed to show his prowess in the 3-match ODI series. Although he performed brilliantly in the T20 World Cup by playing as a lower-down batter and finishing the games with his hard-hitting ability, he failed to impress in the ongoing series. 

Ravindra Jadeja announced his retirement from the shorter format after winning the World Cup along with senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to concentrate on long formats. With the ICC World Test Championship coming and India’s busy Test Schedule, the Southpaw batter was given a rest from the Sri Lanka series to manage his workload.

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya, who has performed exceptionally well for the Indian team in major events with his all-round ability, was seen playing in the T20I series against Sri Lanka, where he played a crucial role in winning the series. However, he was not included in ODI series in the place of Pandya, the Indian team went with Shivam Dube and Riyan Parag, who failed to perform with their bat. Gautam Gambhir and company might be seen bringing the star all-rounder back for the ICC Champions Trophy, which will be played in 2025.

2. Bumrah returns and Siraj out

Mohammed Siraj is considered one of the best bowlers from the Indian team in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who has performed exceptionally well in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, helping the Indian team to win the match under difficult conditions whether it’s against arch-rivals Pakistan or the finals against South Africa, he took the game away from the opponents through his impeccable bowling skills. He finished the tournament by being the second-highest wicket-taker for the Indian team, with 17 wickets in 8 games with an economy of 4.17.

Meanwhile, Siraj's performance was not up to the mark in the marquee event, where he was part of the team in 3 games and picked 1 wicket. In place of Siraj, the Indian team went with young left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who opened the bowling attack of Men in Blue and picked some crucial wickets. He finished the tournament by being the highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets in 8 games.

Despite his average performance, the Indian picked him in the Sri Lanka tour for ODI and T20I series. But after his poor performance, where he was among the bowlers having the worst economy rate, Rohit and co might be dropping him before the next ODI series and give a chance to young players like Harshit Rana, Tushar deshpande who performed brilliantly in IPL 2024 from their respective franchises.

3. A consistent and strong middle-order

One of the reasons for losing the series against Sri Lanka was the poor performance of the middle-order batters, who performed miserably in front of Sri Lankan spinners. Despite getting a good start by the openers in the first 3-matches of the series, the middle order failed to capitalise to score runs. Before going to the next ODI series, Gautam Gambhir and Co. will try to fix the middle order by picking consistent batters who can perform and take the team forward, as in recent times, the Indian team have gone with players like Riyan Parag, Kl Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, who failed to show their prowess.