Wasim Jaffer hails India’s ‘insane’ depth as two different teams play simultaneously

Astonishing has to be the apt adjective to define Indian cricket team’s depth. After all, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has a crop of 25-30 players, who can shine against the best of international teams on their day. Owing to this, we saw a so-called ‘second-stringed’ Indian team thrashing Sri Lanka in the first ODI by seven wickets in Colombo.

On Tuesday (July 20), fans witnessed something even rarer which shows where Indian cricket stands. While the ODI team, under Shikhar Dhawan’s leadership, met Sri Lanka in the second match, Rohit Sharma marshaled the Test troop in a three-day warm-up game against County Select XI in Chester-le-Street. Hence, 22 players are representing the national team simultaneously and this doesn’t include Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami.

Moreover, Washington Sundar and Avesh Khan are playing for County Select XI in the warm-up game to get in the groove. This is certainly a bizarre day in cricket and social media got flooded with netizens presenting their views on Team India’s strength. A tweet from Wasim Jaffer on the occasion was certain and the former Indian opener didn’t disappoint.

Wasim Jaffer hails Team India’s strength

“What a time to be an Indian cricket fan! There are 24 players playing for India in an ODI and a FC game right now. And Kohli, Rahane, Ashwin, Ishant, Shami aren’t in those 24. The depth is insane! PS: We have so many players that two (Avesh Khan and Washington Sundar) are even playing for the opposition #SLvIND,” tweeted Jaffer.

What a time to be an Indian cricket fan! There are 24 players playing for India in an ODI and a FC game right now. And Kohli, Rahane, Ashwin, Ishant, Shami aren’t in those 24. The depth is insane!
PS: We have so many players that two are even playing for the opposition😅 #SLvIND

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) July 20, 2021

Speaking of the second ODI match, India didn’t get off to a great start with Sri Lankan openers Avishka Fernando and Minod Bhanuka adding 77 runs for the first wicket. Nevertheless, Indian bowlers bounced back and took four wickets inside 57 runs. However, a lot of work is still yet to be done in the game and the visitors shouldn’t be complacent.

On the other hand, the Test team’s top-order failed to make a mark against the County Select XI with Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, and Cheteshwar Pujara getting out on low scores. This is indeed not a great piece of news for the visitors ahead of the five-match series against England. Meanwhile, the onus is now on the middle order to stabilize the innings.