WI vs IND: 3 players who can replace Virat Kohli at No. 3 in ODI Series

Virat Kohli has been rested for the upcoming tour of the West Indies, and as a result, the 33-year-old will not be seen in the blues until the Asia Cup 2022. Kohli has been going through a challenging phase in his career and the swashbuckling batter has struggled to put up a decent knock.

His recent stint was the England tour, where he played the one-off Test, two T20Is, and the final two ODIs of the three-match series. Kohli could manage to score only 31 runs in the two innings of the Test match, while his scores in the T20I series weren’t impressive either as he managed to make just 12 runs in the two games.

He missed out on the first ODI due to a groin injury but returned to play for the second and third, which saw him score 16 and 17 runs respectively. As for the Indian team, the Men in Blue have reached the Caribbean and will commence their tour with a three-match ODI series, which will be followed by as five T20Is. Shikhar Dhawan will be in charge of the Men in Blue for the 50-over games whereas Rohit Sharma will return for the 20-over games.

Here are three players who can replace Virat Kohli at No. 3:

1. Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav has been an important component of the team combination lately. He was a part of the Indian squad in the Ireland T20I series; he played against England in the T20Is and also maintained his place in the ODIs. Though he bats in the middle order, there are high chances of Yadav making it to the top order in Kohli’s absence.

Yadav was highly impressive in the T20Is against England, but could not perform the same way in the ODI series. He got an opportunity to bat only in the second and third ODIs and he managed to score just 27 and 16, respectively.

Having played just 10 ODIs, Yadav is fresh to the setup as it has been just one year since he made his ODI debut. With more and more games, he will get accustomed to the conditions and situations. He was a part of the Indian setup when they last faced West Indies in February 2022, where he scored his highest ODI score of 64 (83).