'Massive blunder': Former Pakistan cricketer feels the absence of these two stars cost India ODI series

The India team suffered a disappointing loss against Sri Lanka in the ODI series and the decisions taken by new coach Gautam Gambhir has faced heavy criticism. 

The Men in Blue lost a bilateral ODI series against Sri Lanka after 27 years which has attracted considerable flak. 

Echoing on the same lines, former Pakistan cricket Basit Ali opined that the Indian selectors missed the trick by leaving out Yashasvi Jaiswal and Suryakumar Yadav from the recently concluded three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.

Basit feels that including the likes of Jaiswal and Suryakumar would have bolstered India's batting lineup. Speaking in his latest YouTube video, the cricketer-turned-expert said,

"This series has shown that Yashasvi Jaiswal is a far better player than Shubman Gill. It was a massive blunder from the selection committee to not pick Yashasvi Jaiswal and Suryakumar Yadav."

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The Indian batters failed to deliver the goods

It was a subpar batting performance by the Indian team and eventually, it was the reason why they ended up conceding the ODI series. In none of the matches could the Indian batters reach the relatively achievable targets set by the opposition.

They were bowled out for 230 in the tied opening encounter and were bundled out for 208 and 138 in the subsequent two fixtures.

Except for captain Rohit Sharma, the other main batters couldn't make a notable contribution. Sharma stood out as the top run-scorer of the series, accumulating 157 runs in three innings.

Coach Gautam Gambhir's first assignment after taking office had a mixed result. Although the Indian team registered a 3-0 clean sweep in the T20I leg, they couldn't replicate their performances in the ODI series. 

The Indian team will next shift its focus to the upcoming home season, starting next month when Bangladesh visits for two Tests and three T20Is. 

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