IND vs WI 2nd ODI: Virat, Rohit rested as Hardik Pandya takes charge of side; Sanju Samson returns

India have opted to rest Virat Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma for the second ODI against West Indies as Hardik Pandya took charge of the side. The contest taking place on Saturday, July 29, will also seethe return of Sanju Samson while the duo of Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan were once again preferred as the first-choice openers for the contest. India could seal the ODI series if they win the second contest at Barbados.

Virat, Rohit rested

After being put into bat first following the toss, stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya explained the reason for dropping both Virat and Rohit. The duo has been playing consistent cricket in recent times and needed rest to manage the workload. Both Virat and Rohit have been rested from the T20 series as well and will travel back to India after the conclusion of the ODI series.

“Rohit and Virat have been playing constant cricket, few questions need to be answered for us so they are resting in this game. They can be fresh for the third ODI,” Hardik said at the toss.

The Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper admitted that there are areas where the team can improve despite them being on the front foot in the first ODI. India won the contest by five wickets, however, considering thetarget, it was a poor run chase by the Men in Blue.

“I think when you get someone out for 115, it's a good effort from the bowlers. Our catching was impressive, but we can improve in certain areas. Instead of losing five wickets, we could have lost only two wickets and finished the last game,” added Hardik.

Samson, Patel return

The Indian team also saw the return of Sanju Samson and Axar Patel in the team having remained out of contention in the opening ODI. Samson will have the opportunity to impress the selector as he faces a tough task to make the ODI World Cup squad while Axar will see competition from Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal for a place in the mega event.

The India team will try to seal the series with a win on Saturday, while West Indies will look to return the favourafter losingthe first ODI.

India Playing XI vs West Indies

Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar

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