All-rounder J P Yadav is set to make his return to the Indian team along with Anil Kumble for the final league game against the West Indies in the Indian Oil Cup triangular series at the Premadasa stadium in Colombo, on Sunday.
Coach Greg Chappell indicated on Friday that he wanted to give all members of the squad a chance to show their mettle.
He also hinted that Kumble, so far untried in the competition, could find a place in the final eleven.
"I want to give everyone who is here a chance to play, so hopefully J P [Yadav] will be seen against the West Indies," Chappell said after a gruelling practice session in Colombo.
India have lost twice to Sri Lanka and are still not sure of their place in the final but Chappell is sticking to his policy of experimenting to find the right combination for the side which is still struggling to find its form.
"I want to have a bigger pool of players. You never know when illness can play a part or somebody is injured. You need to have options," the former Australian captain said.
Chappell, a great believer in shuffling things around to keep opponents guessing, wants to bring the Indians out of their comfort zones.
"When opportunities present, we need to change things up, take them out of comfort zone.
"The other day we tried [Mohammad] Kaif and he did help us along the way," the coach said on the Uttar Pradesh batsman's 34-run knock while opening the innings against the West Indies last week.
The coach indicated that the side is also trying to convert Virender Sehwag into an all-rounder to get around the longstanding lack of a fifth bowler.
"He hasn't bowled an awful lot but we are trying to develop him and make use of his bowling skills. He can be handy in that area. We then have J P Yadav and Irfan [Pathan] the other day gave an indication of his ability."
Chappell said various options are being discussed to come up trumps in the tri-series final on Tuesday.
"It is a confidence thing and it could turn quickly. But in cricket as in life, you learn your lessons but don't dwell on it and move on quickly.
"We haven't won for a while so it takes some time to turn the corner. But once confidence and belief comes back, things would be better," Chappell said.
He believed that better batting could have resulted in India winning all the three games rather than being two down to Sri Lanka in the series.
"If we had batted well, we should have won all the three games and got bonus points as well," the coach said, adding "we also could have bowled better."
Indian batsmen have found it difficult to break the shackles imposed by the Sri Lankan bowlers and Chappell said options to tackle them are being discussed, including someone in the line-up taking them on.
"We have discussed this along with a number of other options. We tried doing it against [Tillakaratne] Dilshan but it didn't work. It's true their bowlers have been very stifling and miserly."
"Having said so, the wicket at the Premadasa Stadium is likely to turn but could be quicker as well."
Chappell said the conditions at Dambulla also contributed to the unimpressive show put up by the Indians.
"One of the things which hasn't been discussed enough about Dambulla was the wind factor. It was off-putting to us but they were used to it and handled the conditions better."
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