India fielding two teams simultaneously: A sign of things to come?

[TNAmarkFromIndia]

With the World Test Championship against New Zealand and a series against Sri Lanka scheduled at the same time, India is going to send two different squads in two different countries to represent the country at the same time.

Is this a sign of things to come? Will we see more of this approach with India fielding a stronger squad for the top level teams while simultaneously sending an 'A' squad to face mid/lower level teams, fulfilling their obligations against member boards while also testing out their bench strength?

 

[RainStopsPlay]

Brilliant strategy. India is blessed to have such amazing bench strength. Can't wait to see what new Superstars this new strategy would unveil in the coming days.

 

[Ab Fan]

Across formats, absolutely.

We have a total pool of around 50 cricketers including all formats who are good enough to play internationals depending on format. As long as there is not a case of number of injuries, it shouldn't hurt our cause.

The most important thing is to have good backup options for most of the players of first XI and we have that to use in T20s.

Shaw, Dhawan, Shreyas, SKY, Kishan, Samson, Paddikal and Pandya are good enough to play in the best XI of second team that we will send for T20 series.

 

[Proactive_]

Well this is more of a reflection of how much the quality of cricket has fallen over the years within the bracket of the "erstwhile" Top cricketing nations.

In 2000, we had a strong WI, SL, Pak, SA and Zim capable of challenging every team at full strength consistently. In 2021, Zim is a minnow, WI barely above it while Pak, SL and SA have seen unprecedented downfall in their level of cricket. Bangladesh has progressed but not enough to give a sustained challenge to the Top 4. Thankfully NZ has had somewhat of a resurgence otherwise cricket would almost be dead.

I'm sure even Eng B and Aus B would smash teams like SL and WI in ODIs at this point, which is ultimately a sad sign for things to come concerning world cricket's future.

 

[TNAmarkFromIndia]

Shaw, Dhawan, Shreyas, SKY, Kishan, Samson, Paddikal and Pandya are good enough to play in the best XI of second team that we will send for T20 series.

I'm surprised BCCI didn't push for this to happen sooner. India matches draw more interest and money than India 'A' matches. More matches means you can make more money from broadcasters and sponsors. You'd be having a series in India with one team, drawing crowds and TV viewers for BCCI while the other is in another country.

It would also give more meaning to what would otherwise be boring series with Kohli, Sharma etc. scoring tons of runs against weaker sides.

Also, more players would make their name playing for India and cricket fans around the world would become familiar with more Indian players that only those watching IPL would be familiar with.

 

[Firebat]

India are one of the few nations that can afford to do this. They have such immense quality of squad depth, in the white-ball formats especially. They can send a full strength Test side to one country, and still have enough bench strength for a separate white-ball squad to overcome a lower ranked side.

They do not have the same bench strength in Tests however, so I don't think this would work the other way around.

 

[gazza619]

Makes so much sense. Top tier teams should have started doing this ages ago.

I rather see Pakistan vs England B than Pakistan vs Zimbabwe first XI.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

That's called poor scheduling. And also this once again proves that BCCI only cares about themselves. Sending your B team to face teams like Sri Lanka shows that they don't take them seriously and are openly disrespecting them. When India was a poor team BCCI also wanted to play as much as they can against top teams in order to improve themselves in international cricket. Now that BCCI is powerful they are doing this to lower ranked teams or teams who are battling the worst time in their history.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

India are one of the few nations that can afford to do this. They have such immense quality of squad depth, in the white-ball formats especially. They can send a full strength Test side to one country, and still have enough bench strength for a separate white-ball squad to overcome a lower ranked side.

They do not have the same bench strength in Tests however, so I don't think this would work the other way around.

Squad depth? We are struggling to find a decent middle order batsman and a finisher for our main LOI sides ever since trio of Raina, Yuvi and Dhoni retired. What kind of squad depth is that?

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Makes so much sense. Top tier teams should have started doing this ages ago.

I rather see Pakistan vs England B than Pakistan vs Zimbabwe first XI.

Yeah and when Pakistan beats England B some fans can always give an excuse that they didn't beat England's main side. This is a stupid idea and some boards will drop this idea once their B team starts losing because ICC rankings and league won't give a damn about whether they fielded an A team or D team.

 

[NishanKonar]

This India B side is more than capable in competing in sub continent pitches. Wont be surprised if they actually win the series

No other choice given Covid realities & quarantine necessities

 

[someone21]

Its disgusting, it's milking it.

So much money around, and fans are taken for granted.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Squad depth? We are struggling to find a decent middle order batsman and a finisher for our main LOI sides ever since trio of Raina, Yuvi and Dhoni retired. What kind of squad depth is that?

Did you miss the recent eng odi series.
Rishab Pant is our next yuvraj in lois, he "ll play at no. 5.

Also did you miss the test series vs aus too where our third grade side breached the fortress.

 

[hitthestump]

Brilliant strategy. India is blessed to have such amazing bench strength. Can't wait to see what new Superstars this new strategy would unveil in the coming days.

In what world is this brilliant? All we are seeing is the continued chasm between the big 3 and everyone else.

On the other hand, why have Sri Lanka accepted a series at this time? Are the smaller boards literally so money hungry that they will actively encourage being disrespected in exchange for a few rupees? Shame on them.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

India vs Sri Lanka is basically as boring and one sided as it gets and it is actually bad for odi cricket.
This B team approach might help both the boards in increasing the viewership, atleast we can hope for some contest.

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

England and Australia already did this

 

[NishanKonar]

In what world is this brilliant? All we are seeing is the continued chasm between the big 3 and everyone else.

On the other hand, why have Sri Lanka accepted a series at this time? Are the smaller boards literally so money hungry that they will actively encourage being disrespected in exchange for a few rupees? Shame on them.

BCCI said they are sending a team only to help Sri Lankan board as Sri Lankan board is struggling financially . A series now will help keep the Lankans survive these tough times

India was also scheduled to do the same with South Africa last year to help South African board survive but the series did not take place due to Covid issues in South Africa

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Did you miss the recent eng odi series.
Rishab Pant is our next yuvraj in lois, he "ll play at no. 5.

Also did you miss the test series vs aus too where our third grade side breached the fortress.

Long long way to go before he can become Yuvi in LOI's. I didn't miss the test series but it seems you missed the whole point of that post. Try harder.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

BCCI said they are sending a team only to help Sri Lankan board as Sri Lankan board is struggling financially . A series now will help keep the Lankans survive these tough times

India was also scheduled to do the same with South Africa last year to help South African board survive but the series did not take place due to Covid issues in South Africa

So this is just a one-off and not going to happen again in future?

 

[Ab Fan]

Long long way to go before he can become Yuvi in LOI's. I didn't miss the test series but it seems you missed the whole point of that post. Try harder.

The trio of Pant, KL and Pandya is as intimidating a middle order as Yuvi, Raina and Dhoni were.

After a few ups and downs, they are now all set to rule the world

It will truly be a pleasure to watch the talented trio become the best trio sooner

 

[NishanKonar]

So this is just a one-off and not going to happen again in future?

This case was necessitated bcoz of WTC final & England tour following up

But again while not a totally new side - we might see big stars drop out like Virat Kohli skipping Asia Cup - due to excess cricket & need for rest. Which is perfectly fine

 

[NishanKonar]

The trio of Pant, KL and Pandya is as intimidating a middle order as Yuvi, Raina and Dhoni were.

After a few ups and downs, they are now all set to rule the world

It will truly be a pleasure to watch the talented trio become the best trio sooner

We need to give time to Pandya & Rishab Pant

Even Yuvi & Dhoni took several years to become consistent finishers in ODIs. Remember Dhoni's disastrous 2007 WC where he got out twice first ball in the 2 defeats to SL & Ban.

Some people think new young players will become as good as peak Yuvi & Dhoni right from the start

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

The trio of Pant, KL and Pandya is as intimidating a middle order as Yuvi, Raina and Dhoni were.

After a few ups and downs, they are now all set to rule the world

It will truly be a pleasure to watch the talented trio become the best trio sooner

Just goes to show you didn't follow Indian cricket before you left South Africa and picked India as your favorite team.

 

[Ab Fan]

Just goes to show you didn't follow Indian cricket before you left South Africa and picked India as your favorite team.

I have been following Indian cricket since two decades

I have followed Pant, KL and Pandya since their debuts and even before their debuts.

 

[JibranAnsari]

More cricket , thats what we all need.

 

[Ab Fan]

We need to give time to Pandya & Rishab Pant

Even Yuvi & Dhoni took several years to become consistent finishers in ODIs. Remember Dhoni's disastrous 2007 WC where he got out twice first ball in the 2 defeats to SL & Ban.

Some people think new young players will become as good as peak Yuvi & Dhoni right from the start

Pandya is already performing at the level that is expected from a good LOI player. He averages 34 at strike rate of 115 and was filling the whole quota of 10 overs as fifth bowler till 2019 WC. He is now going through a workload management phase and hence will only bowl when required. But his stats are more than good enough for a batting all-rounder.

Pant is still a youngster. Every youngster takes a couple of years to develop. Pant has actually not taken as much time as some other players do as visible by what he did in Australia and Vs England last season. In ODIs also, he has started achieving great success. You can't expect him to do the stuffs at 23 which Tendulkar did. Nobody said that he is the next Tendulkar but he has already done better than some specialist batsman out there of same age.

 

[Hasan123]

Teams who have the depth will probably do this.

 

[Hasan123]

Can remember when Australia last played a test series in India, they had a T20 series against Sri Lanka in Australia close to the test series or during.

 

[Slim]

I dont know why people are welcoming it. This doesnt happen in football, field hockey etc. Cricket is madly driven by MONEY.

If you keep playing your Tier B teams against weaker teams, how would they develop? Also, its downright disrespectful to the team getting the second tier team. What about the stats then? Will the team which gets Tier B team get blamed for winning against the Tier B team and their fans would chest thump that they didnt play the main team thats why it happened?

This has far reaching effects and bad for the game. Its not like there are a zillion cricket teams that you can field multiple tiers of your team.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

I dont know why people are welcoming it. This doesnt happen in football, field hockey etc. Cricket is madly driven by MONEY.

If you keep playing your Tier B teams against weaker teams, how would they develop? Also, its downright disrespectful to the team getting the second tier team. What about the stats then? Will the team which gets Tier B team get blamed for winning against the Tier B team and their fans would chest thump that they didnt play the main team thats why it happened?

This has far reaching effects and bad for the game. Its not like there are a zillion cricket teams that you can field multiple tiers of your team.

You are right. I pretty much raised the same points above. Problem is you will see the same arrogance from those fans who were quite confident that IPL will complete during the pandemic here too. Once India B or Z team loses they will be back to either criticise BCCI or totally downplay opposition for not beating our main team. These same fans are used to be in a win win situation ever since they chose IPL as their prime source of entertainment.

 

[gazza619]

Yeah and when Pakistan beats England B some fans can always give an excuse that they didn't beat England's main side. This is a stupid idea and some boards will drop this idea once their B team starts losing because ICC rankings and league won't give a damn about whether they fielded an A team or D team.

Rankings mean very little if anything in limited overs cricket. I dont even know who is the no.1 ODI side in the world. And I reckon 90% of the times the B teams of Australia, England and India will beat Sri Lanka, WI and other lower ranked teams.

 

[U$ofA]

India are one of the few nations that can afford to do this. They have such immense quality of squad depth, in the white-ball formats especially. They can send a full strength Test side to one country, and still have enough bench strength for a separate white-ball squad to overcome a lower ranked side.

They do not have the same bench strength in Tests however, so I don't think this would work the other way around.

Not required either. I mean Test is not exactly a thriving format. India plays only about 12 tests a year. That is 60 days out of 365 days of play, if played to maximum on all tests (which they are not). Certainly do not need two test teams for 12 matches.

 

[PakLFC]

India has a strong pool to pick from at the moment. Countries like Pak struggle to put out a decent first 111 let alone another side. The Indian second string is much better then Pak's current first team. No it is not the future at all.

 

[TNAmarkFromIndia]

If you keep playing your Tier B teams against weaker teams, how would they develop?

If a weaker team beats the Tier B team regularly, they wouldn't be a weaker team anymore. But India's "Tier B" team is more likely to beat the likes of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, West Indies, Zimbabwe than not.

 

[MenInG]

Highly impressed with India's strong bench strength, former Pakistan wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal reckons the Indian cricket is so well equipped that they can field three international teams at the same time and each of them will be tough to beat. The Indian team will be playing six Tests in England from June to August, whereas another team will be travelling to Sri Lanka to play three ODIs and three T20Is in July, which reflects the depth they have in terms of the quality of players.

Akmal explains this has been made possible due to India paying a lot of attention to its grass-root level of cricket and lauded former India captain Rahul Dravid for his role in helping shape the careers of so many young and talented players, which is later groomed further by head coach Ravi Shastri in the Indian team.

"Full credit to India's mindset. Two teams will be playing at a time soon, one in England and one in Sri Lanka. Their cricket culture is so strong that they can field three international teams at the same time. This is because they have made no compromises at the grassroot level," Akmal said on his YouTube channel.

"Rahul Dravid has been working with the BCCI for seven-eight years I think, and look where he has taken Indian cricket. Dravid has readied players for international cricket at the grassroot level. Then, in the Indian team, Ravi Shastri has guided them really well as head coach."

Akmal can't help but marvel at the number of options there are to captain the team and feels that even if India were to send a 'C' team to Sri Lanka, it would emerge victorious. The Lankans are coming off a 1-2 ODI series defeat against Bangladesh in Dhaka and India have a strong chance to add to their misery.

"As captain, first MS Dhoni and now Virat Kohli have carried the team brilliantly. In between, when Kohli was resting, Rohit Sharma took over. Look at the captaincy options they have. If Rohit is injured, then they have KL Rahul. They are not affected even if big players are unavailable," Akmal added.

"Even if India sends a C team to Sri Lanka they will win. The Lankans recently lost to Bangladesh."

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...l-teams-at-the-same-time-101622280036720.html

 

[Saurav]

Only India can afford to field two decent teams

And that's due to much maligned IPL

 

[BaankeJi]

Lot of credit is being given to Rahul Dravid some of which he deserves.There are many other coaches who have shaped these players and are not being given enough spotlight. For example coaches who work with players before they become part of U19 team.

 

[TNAmarkFromIndia]

Only India can afford to field two decent teams

And that's due to much maligned IPL

While IPL has brought in money that supports Indian cricket, credit needs to be given to the domestic system and also the India 'A' system for developing the talent.

 

[mastimasti]

With the World Test Championship against New Zealand and a series against Sri Lanka scheduled at the same time, India is going to send two different squads in two different countries to represent the country at the same time.

Is this a sign of things to come? Will we see more of this approach with India fielding a stronger squad for the top level teams while simultaneously sending an 'A' squad to face mid/lower level teams, fulfilling their obligations against member boards while also testing out their bench strength?

What is the Sri Lanka series? LOIs?

England did similar things through covid with a test and ODI squad set up.

Actually I just had a look, India's ODI team are scheduled to play SL in July, test championship 18-22nd June.

Pretty much the same situation as I mentioned with England. They pioneered it, we are following as always...plus there is enough of a gap between the test side and guys picked for ODIs.

 

[mastimasti]

I am reading some of the comments...I don't think members here watch enough cricket to know England did the same across their covid summer......

 

[FastBowlingAllrounder]

Not required either. I mean Test is not exactly a thriving format. India plays only about 12 tests a year. That is 60 days out of 365 days of play, if played to maximum on all tests (which they are not). Certainly do not need two test teams for 12 matches.

“Only” 12 tests a year?

Clearly you’re well aware of the changes in cricket in the past few years...

 

[Saurav]

While IPL has brought in money that supports Indian cricket, credit needs to be given to the domestic system and also the India 'A' system for developing the talent.

It's not only the money.These U19 and A cricketers rub shoulders with legends of the game,play under pressure.So by the time they played for India,they are battle ready

It's no coincidence Gill and Washington could perform straightaway in Australia.Wouldn't have happened in pre IPL era

 

[TNAmarkFromIndia]

It's not only the money.These U19 and A cricketers rub shoulders with legends of the game,play under pressure.So by the time they played for India,they are battle ready

The "rubbing shoulders with legends" is the most overrated aspect of T20 leagues. There's barely anything you can learn about a player in a 2-month T20 league. That's why a Trent Boult can destroy India in the World Cup semifinals.

England are World Cup champions without having the biggest names in the sport in their T20 league. New Zealand reached the final twice in a row and they don't even have their national team players playing in their T20 league. Meanwhile, India with all the biggest players in cricket playing the IPL hasn't won an ICC tournament in 8 years.

 

[Ab Fan]

The "rubbing shoulders with legends" is the most overrated aspect of T20 leagues. There's barely anything you can learn about a player in a 2-month T20 league. That's why a Trent Boult can destroy India in the World Cup semifinals.

<B>England are World Cup champions without having the biggest names in the sport in their T20 league</B>. New Zealand reached the final twice in a row and they don't even have their national team players playing in their T20 league. Meanwhile, India with all the biggest players in cricket playing the IPL hasn't won an ICC tournament in 8 years.

West Indies, not England.

That's why I call T20s as worthless. There is no value addition being a T20 world champion. It is an useless format and good for people who don't understand test cricket

 

[Saurav]

The "rubbing shoulders with legends" is the most overrated aspect of T20 leagues. There's barely anything you can learn about a player in a 2-month T20 league. That's why a Trent Boult can destroy India in the World Cup semifinals.

England are World Cup champions without having the biggest names in the sport in their T20 league. New Zealand reached the final twice in a row and they don't even have their national team players playing in their T20 league. Meanwhile, India with all the biggest players in cricket playing the IPL hasn't won an ICC tournament in 8 years.

Morgan himself said IPL helped in WC 2019 so your point is moot

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...up-plans-eoin-morgan/articleshow/77255541.cms

India has reached knockouts of virtually every ICC tournament.We couldn't win because of different reasons.IPL has nothing to do with it.

You can learn a lot in 2 months.The work ethic,discipline,the ability to soak pressure.Its upto the players to learn

 

[Farabi]

The "rubbing shoulders with legends" is the most overrated aspect of T20 leagues. There's barely anything you can learn about a player in a 2-month T20 league. That's why a Trent Boult can destroy India in the World Cup semifinals.

England are World Cup champions without having the biggest names in the sport in their T20 league. New Zealand reached the final twice in a row and they don't even have their national team players playing in their T20 league. Meanwhile, India with all the biggest players in cricket playing the IPL hasn't won an ICC tournament in 8 years.

Agreed.
It a lot of hype. First team is Red ball and second team is white ball. Due to advent of leagues, many teams are seeing more specialists for red ball teams and LOI teams.

For example, for Pakistan Babar, Rizwan, Hassan and Shaheen are the only players who play red ball and LOI. Pakistan can send a "B" team w/o these 4 players to SL and win as well.

There's no doubt the depth is there, thanks to IPL. But it's not like there are two white ball squads traveling the world and causing havoc. Its still an experiment

 

[cricketAXEpert]

Well this is more of a reflection of how much the quality of cricket has fallen over the years within the bracket of the "erstwhile" Top cricketing nations.

In 2000, we had a strong WI, SL, Pak, SA and Zim capable of challenging every team at full strength consistently. In 2021, Zim is a minnow, WI barely above it while Pak, SL and SA have seen unprecedented downfall in their level of cricket. Bangladesh has progressed but not enough to give a sustained challenge to the Top 4. Thankfully NZ has had somewhat of a resurgence otherwise cricket would almost be dead.

I'm sure even Eng B and Aus B would smash teams like SL and WI in ODIs at this point, which is ultimately a sad sign for things to come concerning world cricket's future.

This is a side effect of too much T20 cricket. Where the focus has shifted from Test Cricket. Right now we have 4 top level Test sides (the Big 3 & NZ). But if we don't focus on Test cricket ultimately we won't even have 4 good sides.

There should be minimum quota each regular Test Side has to play. Too many times Cricket boards are cutting test matches for Useless T20 games.

 

[Farabi]

Agreed.
It a lot of hype. First team is Red ball and second team is white ball. Due to advent of leagues, many teams are seeing more specialists for red ball teams and LOI teams.

For example, for Pakistan Babar, Rizwan, Hassan and Shaheen are the only players who play red ball and LOI. Pakistan can send a "B" team w/o these 4 players to SL and win as well.

There's no doubt the depth is there, thanks to IPL. But it's not like there are two white ball squads traveling the world and causing havoc. Its still an experiment

Forget two different squads for red ball and white ball which are easier to build as they draw on two different talent pools, even Pakistan can field 2 LOI teams that can beat SL. Here's my take:

Team 1
Imam
Sharjeel
Babar
Saud Shakeel
Sarfaraz (wk)
Iftikhar
Nawaz
Hassan
Amir
Usman Qadir
Hasnain


Team 2
Fakhar Zaman
Rizwan (wk)
Haris sohail
Hafeez
Haider Ali
Imad Wasim
Faheem
Shadab
Wahab
Haris Rauf
Shaheen

Bench
Arshad Iqbal
Talat
Zahid Mehmood
Q Maqsood
Junaid
Usman Shinwari
Abid Ali
S Dahani

 

[Farabi]

This does not even include test specialists like Azhar Ali, Imran Butt, Naseem Shah, Abbas, Yasir Shah, Nauman Ali, Fawad Alam who can walk into most sides.
Then you also have ignored talents like Khurram Manzoor, Sohaib Maqsood, Sadaf Hussain, Kamran Ghulam, Usman Sal, Hammad Azam etc.

 

[MenInG]

India fielding two different squads in different locations due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic can become a norm as it allows more bilateral cricket and some respite to all-format players from bio-bubble fatigue, said Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) treasurer Arun Dhumal on Wednesday. In a rare instance, Shikhar Dhawan will be leading a second string Indian team in Sri Lanka next month when the Virat-Kohli-led side will be in England ahead of the Tests against England. Kohli has already spoken about the need to give players a break from the bubble life besides managing their workload. "It is a definite possibility that India could play another limited overs tour with a younger squad while the main team players are playing elsewhere or need a break. The COVID-19 related restrictions also need to be factored in," Dhumal told PTI.

"It (two India squads) also shows the solid bench strength of the Indian team and gives us an opportunity to organise more bilateral cricket and help other boards which are facing financial challenges amid the pandemic.

"It is imperative to come up with new ideas to deal with the loss of bilateral cricket that has happened over the last 18 months," he said.

India have picked as many as six uncapped players for the Sri Lanka tour comprising three ODIs and as many T20 Internationals from July 13. All games will be played in Colombo.

Talking about women's cricket, for which BCCI has often faced criticism, Dhumal said the board is taking all the necessary steps to grow the game in the country.

"Women's cricket has come a long way after it came under the aegis of BCCI. The sport will grow even more in the future and the board will leave no stone unturned to give more exposure and opportunity to budding women cricketers," he asserted.

"The board has already made a conscious attempt to give them substantial game time before the World Cup (next year) with tours of England and Australia lined up.

"We are also really happy to see them playing Tests again and wish the players the very best."

However, he said it would be tough to slot in the Women's Challenge during the IPL as the team is scheduled to play three ODIs, a pink ball Test and three T20Is in Australia from September 19 when the second half of IPL begins.

The players will also have to do a 14-day quarantine upon their arrival in Australia. "With the way schedule stands, it is tough to find a window for the Women's Challenge during the IPL," said Dhumal.

NDTV

 

[gani999]

That's called poor scheduling. And also this once again proves that BCCI only cares about themselves. Sending your B team to face teams like Sri Lanka shows that they don't take them seriously and are openly disrespecting them. When India was a poor team BCCI also wanted to play as much as they can against top teams in order to improve themselves in international cricket. Now that BCCI is powerful they are doing this to lower ranked teams or teams who are battling the worst time in their history.

Given the thrashing India D gave Australia in their backyard recently, I doubt that India B can be considered inferior to Sri Lanka.

 

[Mesozoic]

Forget two different squads for red ball and white ball which are easier to build as they draw on two different talent pools, even Pakistan can field 2 LOI teams that can beat SL. Here's my take:

Having seen how Pakistan struggled against SA D and Zim with a near full strength side, I think it'd be a tad bit delusion to say that pak would certainly beat any top 10 ODI team without the services of Babar, Rizwan and Shaheen.

India are going to Sri Lanka without Rohit, Kohli, Rahul, Iyer, Pant, Jadeja, Bumrah and Shami. That's at least 7/11 sure starters. And then a few first choice backups too like Sundar, Shardul, Mayank and Gill. But still they're looking stronger that SL (atleast on paper) It's most certainly not the same as what you think it is..

 

[Ab Fan]

Dhawan
Shaw
Samson
SKY
Kishan
H Pandya
K Pandya
Bhuvi
Chahar D/Saini
Chahar R
Sakariya

 

[Proactive_]

How about fielding a first XI that can win games and tournaments consistently?

Is this too crazy a thought?

 

[Farabi]

Having seen how Pakistan struggled against SA D and Zim with a near full strength side, I think it'd be a tad bit delusion to say that pak would certainly beat any top 10 ODI team without the services of Babar, Rizwan and Shaheen.

India are going to Sri Lanka without Rohit, Kohli, Rahul, Iyer, Pant, Jadeja, Bumrah and Shami. That's at least 7/11 sure starters. And then a few first choice backups too like Sundar, Shardul, Mayank and Gill. But still they're looking stronger that SL (atleast on paper) It's most certainly not the same as what you think it is..

Pakistan can beat this SL w/o Babar, Rizwan and Shaheen in ODIs.

This is just conjecture. Pak beat the team SA fielded in their own conditions. SA D, SA E, SA F --I've lost count
Personally, I though J.Malan was an upgrade on De Kock.
The only player SA missed was Nortje. That's all.

Every team is missing key players every now and then due to injuries/selection policies/politics etc.
Even Pak wasn't playing Haris Sohail, Amir, Wahab, and Imad who walk into the ODI side.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

How about fielding a first XI that can win games and tournaments consistently?

Is this too crazy a thought?

Exactly. Let's get our first XI right before we show off our second XI who is ready to take on all the teams that are quite low in the rankings.