The Men in Blue came up with a surprise playing XI during the time at the toss of the second ODI against West Indies on Saturday where they rested the legendary duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. India’s talented all-rounder Hardik Pandya took the captaincy duty from Rohit Sharma and was asked to bat first in the game. According to Pandya, they were looking for a few answers and that is the reason why they decided to give rest to the duo. Sanju Samson and Axar Patel have been added to the playing XI.

“We were looking to bat first. We want to see how much we can score on this pitch which is a bit up and down. Few questions need to be answered for us, so Virat and Rohit are resting. They can be fresh for the third ODI. The way we bowled was impressive. The way we caught was great, it changed momentum. 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. Sanju Samson and Axar Patel come in for Rohit and Virat,” stand-in captain Hardik Pandya said at the toss.

During the first ODI also, both Virat and Rohit decided to come down the order in order to give chances to the young guns. The intention was to try out a few new combinations ahead of the World Cup. WI Skipper Shai Hope at the time of the toss said that they are looking to win the game to stay alive in the series.

“We are going to bowl first, we saw what happened in the last game. The conditions will assist the bowlers. We got two games to play, so we got to win this one to stay alive. It has been a bit unpredictable. Both teams have to play on the same surface. We got to bowl first and put them under pressure. Powell, Drakes is out, Alzarri and Keacy are in.”

Playing XI’s:

West Indies (Playing XI): Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Alick Athanaze, Shai Hope(w/c), Shimron Hetmyer, Keacy Carty, Romario Shepherd, Yannic Cariah, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales.

India (Playing XI): Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan(w), Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar.