India have a rich talent pool with several quality players on the sidelines.
The India men’s cricket team is blessed with a ridiculously deep talent pool. There are frequent statements suggesting that India’s second XI is capable of defeating the top sides in the world. When you take a look at the names that are not a regular feature in India’s first-choice XI, you realise those statements make good sense.
While the Men in Blue look to clinch the Champions Trophy 2025, they have several high-quality players sitting on the sidelines. Here, we try to come up with the best possible second XI for India in ODIs.
Yashasvi Jaiswal will be Rohit Sharma’s successor at the top of the order when the skipper hangs the boots. The left-hand batter made his ODI debut in the series against England, where the management was ready to change the batting set-up for him. Jaiswal has a terrific record in List A cricket, with over 1,500 runs at an average of 52.62, including five centuries. Not to forget, he has been a prolific run-scorer in Tests and T20s for India.
Sai Sudharsan is a consistent performer in domestic cricket. He earned himself a national call-up on the tour of South Africa in 2023, where he played three ODIs and scored two fifties. Sudharsan also has a magnificent List A record with 1,396 runs, averaging 60.69 at a strike rate of 95. The 23-year-old is likely to be a mainstay in India’s ODI side in coming years.
💯 for Sai Sudharsan 🙌
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) August 1, 2023
He gets there off 111 balls. A fantastic innings laced with 9 fours.
He gets a salute from his skipper 🫡
Live Stream 📺 – https://t.co/CpJgKT71lK
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The 22-year-old Mumbai Indians batter has played four ODIs so far. And though he couldn’t do much in those, Tilak Varma has excellent List A numbers. He has 1,494 runs in the format at an average of 49 and a strike rate of 94. He has shown good composure in tough situations for Mumbai Indians (MI) as well as India in T20Is.
Riyan Parag has been one of the top performers in domestic cricket year after year. His underperformance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) was hindering his progress at other levels. But that changed in the previous season, where he piled up 573 runs at an average of 52 while striking at 149. Later in August, he was handed the ODI debut. Parag has over 1,700 runs in List A cricket at 41 average and 103 strike rate, along with 53 wickets.
Under Rahul Dravid’s tenure as the head coach, Rishabh Pant was India’s first-choice wicketkeeper. But an unfortunate accident put him out of action for months. He is back in the set-up but as a back-up to KL Rahul. Pant has shown how good he can be in the fifty-over format. With his experience, Pant is also the best captaincy option in this India second XI.
The moment when #RP17 made us fall in love with his innings with every shot 🤩 🏏#OnThisDay in 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣2️⃣, an audacious @RishabhPant17 took the English bowlers to the cleaners by scoring a magnificent 💯#SonySportsNetwork #TeamIndia #ENGvIND #RishabhPant pic.twitter.com/kGjU7SkDZw
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) July 17, 2023
Rinku Singh is another prolific run-scorer in the domestic circuit. He has a pretty safe technique and has a good game against both, pace and spin. His record in List A cricket is quite impressive, with an average of 47.59 and a strike rate of 95. Rinku has played two ODIs for India, scoring 55 runs.
Nitish Kumar Reddy was one of the biggest positives for India from the recent tour Down Under. His domestic numbers aren’t great but shows good promise. As a pace all-rounder, Reddy offers a good balance to the side.
Washington Sundar often gets opportunities in ODIs but can’t break into the main side, with the presence of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. The off-spin all-rounder offers a good skill set and has a good temperament. He has 24 wickets in 23 ODIs and averages 23 with the bat.
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The mystery spinner was included in the Indian team for the Champions Trophy 2025 after his performance in the T20 series against England. However, he couldn’t get into the main XI with Kuldeep Yadav being the incumbent. Varun Chakravarthy has 60 wickets in 26 List A matches at just 14.80 apiece and an economy of 4.33.
In an ideal world, Mohammed Siraj should have been in India’s playing XI in the ongoing ICC event. He is one of the best operators of the new balls and has had success in ODIs. Siraj has taken 77 wickets in the format for India at 24.04 apiece and 5.18 economy.
WICKET!
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) March 17, 2023
Travis Head hears the death rattle, as @mdsirajofficial gets yet another Powerplay wicket! 😍#TeamIndia draw first blood. 💪
Tune-in to the 1st Mastercard #INDvAUS ODI, LIVE on the Star Sports Network & Disney+Hotstar!#BelieveInBlue #Cricket pic.twitter.com/AJNqba3NkH
Arshdeep Singh is unfortunate to be excluded from India’s first XI, despite consistently performing well. The left-arm pacer has played nine ODIs and has taken 14 wickets at 23 runs apiece. He has 55 scalps in fifty-over cricket at an average of 24.30, with six hauls of four or more wickets.
The above XI has a blend of batters who can play long innings as well as those who can go berserk from the first ball. It also has a great batting depth, with Sundar at No.8. The bowling unit also looks versatile, with good experience among them. Apart from these 11 players, the likes of Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Prasidh Krishna also deserve a shout-out.
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