Time for fringe players to get a go

Antigua. India has already won a five match one day series by getting an assailable lead of 3-0 against West Indies. It’s time they measure the bench strength of the bench strength as this is already a second string team. Team management would definitely want to give Ishant Sharma a chance as in the absence of Zaheer and Shreesanth in the upcoming test series he would have to shoulder much responsibility. R Ashwin may also come in for Harbhajan Singh and Manoj Tiwari may replace Shikhar Dhawan in the opening slot.

Things have been really gloomy for the West Indies side. The second string Indian side has proven too good for them. They have played good in patches but lacked the flair and the killing instinct to win matches. The controversy around Gayle’s selection and Darren Samy’s criticism for not attending the West Indies Players' Association awards ceremony hasn’t helped either. They need some inspiration to lift their side, they would be playing to retain some pride in the next two games.

There have been some pretty good prospects in this series so far for India. Rohit Sharma’s renaissance has been phenomenal, and there has been someone standing up every time the team has been in a dock. If India can beat a test playing nation with their second string team, then in Fletcher’s words, the world champions can dominate world cricket for the next five to 10 years.