'Five games too little to judge'

India cricket coach Duncan Fletcher wants to give youngsters more opportunities to blossom since five games are not enough to judge the ability of a player

India cricket coach Duncan Fletcher wants to give youngsters more opportunities to blossom since five games are not enough to judge the ability of a player.

While middle-order batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli made most of the opportunities that came their way in the 3-2 ODI series-win over the West Indies, wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel, all-rounder Yusuf Pathan, middle-order batsmen Shikhar Dhawan and Subramaniam Badrinath, and even captain Suresh Raina failed to impress the selectors.

"Five games are not enough of a chance to judge a player and his ability. Playing for India is a huge pressure and with so many talents around, you are given very few chances They then put a lot of pressure on themselves with the technique changes that affect performance," said Fletcher, after India suffered a loss in the fifth and final ODI here Thursday.

"You need a long run to learn ODI cricket. Great batsmen say that it takes 50 ODIs to learn the game. Most of these guys have played just three-four games," Fletcher said. ufffd

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