When Jayant Yadav turned up to bat during Indias net session at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Friday, he had a distinguished pair of non-regular bowlers bowling to him. MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, bowling offbreaks, were amusing themselves by servicing a group of lower-order batsmen that included Amit Mishra and Umesh Yadav. There was some good-natured teasing of Jayants batting as Dhoni and Kohli bantered with the rookie.Jayant is one of the newbies picked for the first three ODIs with the established bowlers rested. Ajinkya Rahane said the arrival of these players was energising. Jayant is the only member in the squad without any international experience; he is not one of the 31 players who have played ODIs for India since the 2015 World Cup. He is, in fact, the only player who returned from the Zimbabwe tour in June without featuring in a single game.But Jayants is not a one-off situation. Only seven players have featured in 12 or more of the 19 ODIs India have played since April 2015. More than 10 players on the fringes have played at different points, particularly during the two limited-overs tours to Zimbabwe in 2015 and 2016 when many senior players sat out. The likes of Kedar Jadhav and Faiz Fazal would invariably make way for the bigger names once a more high-profile series began. There have also been injuries at different points, a reason for the high turnover of personnel. These patterns point to a larger issue; Indias ODI game has been in limbo for some time now, something that is easy to overlook because of their recent golden run in Test matches.India have lost nine of their last 19 ODIs since April 2015. While these numbers may not tell you much, consider this: India have lost three of their last five ODI series - against Bangladesh, South Africa and Australia - with their only wins coming against Zimbabwe. That they start the five-ODI series against New Zealand on almost equal footing despite playing at home and having swept the Tests tells you the story. India have only eight ODIs from now till the Champions Trophy - while New Zealand will play almost three times as many matches - to resolve some longstanding problems. With Dhoni almost certain to lead the team into the Champions Trophy, these ODIs present a timely opportunity to sort out the kinks.Take the case of his seemingly unending search for the seam-bowling allrounder. After trying Stuart Binny and Rishi Dhawan with varying degrees of success in recent times, Dhoni seemed to have found in Hardik Pandya a third seamer who could biff the ball in the lower order. But with Pandyas form tapering off in the IPL, the selectors overlooked him for the Zimbabwe series. Now, despite not stacking up attractive numbers in India As tour of Australia, the selectors have reverted to taking a punt on Pandya in recognition of the pressing need for a seam-bowling allrounder, particularly in English conditions for the Champions Trophy.Another factor that would have bothered Dhoni is Suresh Rainas slipping form since the 2015 World Cup. When Raina was at the top of his game, Dhoni could not only turn to him for middle-order insurance, but also use him as the fifth or sixth bowler. While Raina has been recalled without many runs to show in recent times, should he click, it will offer Dhoni the comfort of returning to a proven success formula.One of the more successful auditions in recent times has been that of Manish Pandey; he has not done much wrong since his hundred in Sydney. He has none of Rainas bowling abilities, but with his attacking batting and fielding skills, he makes a good case for a middle-order spot. There is also Axar Patel, who is a much improved lower-order striker apart from being a niggardly bowler, as he demonstrated for India A against Australia recently. In Ravindra Jadejas absence, he has another opportunity to show why he can mimic the Saurashtra spinners role.Crucially for Dhoni, he now has Anil Kumble - who is into his first ODI series as coach - to lean on for tactical advice. With Kumble known to be a keen-eyed strategist, there could be a departure, even if just slightly, from the more gut-driven methods Dhoni had adopted in the past. No matter what Rahane or his team-mates say, India cannot afford to look at this series only for what it is. With bigger stakes looming in the form of the Champions Trophy, selection of personnel cannot be a one-off, and will have to be geared towards a larger and a more concrete game plan. Football Jerseys Throwback Outlet . By having more great seasons. Manning was the only unanimous choice for the 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team Friday. Discount Football Jerseys Throwback . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.cheapfootballthrowback.com/ . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. Stitched Football Jerseys Throwback . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Wholesale Football Jerseys Throwback . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State running back Dalvin Cook had people wondering if something was wrong after he failed to post a 100-yard performance in the first three games of the season.He has put most of those concerns to rest over the past three games for the 14th-ranked Seminoles .The junior leads Power 5 backs in rushing yards going into Saturdays game against Wake Forest. But the more surprising stat to Cook is that he leads the nation in yards gained from scrimmage with 1,130.Cook said he didnt realize that until he was asked about it.Theres some satisfaction but always in the back of your head you know you are capable of doing more, he said. Overall there is still a lot of stuff I have to clean up, but I have been having some solid performances.Cook is averaging 185.7 rushing yards over the past three games, including a career best 267 in a win at South Florida on Sept. 24 . The following week in a loss to North Carolina he became the first running back in school history with 100 yards rushing and receiving.The biggest difference over the past three games is that Cook has been more aggressive. NFL scouts, who consider Cook to be one of the top three backs in next years draft if he leaves FSU early, said they thought Cook was tentative and was just taking what the defense gave him.However, Cook has looked more like the physical and elusive back he was last season, when he set a school single-season record for rushing yards.There were some plays early in the season when he would find a hole, get to the second or third level and some guys who shouldnt have tackled him one-on-one were making the stops, said Daniel Jeremiah, a former scout who now works for NFL Network. Now you see him running with more power and getting more than what the play might be giving him.With 20 receptions at the midway point of the season, Cook is on pace to be the first Florida State running back with 30 or more catches since Lorenzo Boooker in 2006.ddddddddddddCook has 11 receptions the past three games and is averaging 261.3 scrimmage yards in that span.Cook is tied with Ohio States Curtis Samuel for most receiving yards by a running back with 345. His 59-yard reception off a Deondre Francois play action pass last week against No. 16 Miami showed that the Seminoles (4-2, 1-2 ACC) arent afraid to send him on routes downfield, instead of just throwing it to him on screens and flares.Last year he was a great running back. This year hes catching the ball, Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said. Then with some of their quarterback run game, theyre using him as a blocker. Hes a tough kid.Clawson and the Demon Deacons (5-1, 2-1) know all about Cooks big play capability. He had a 94-yard touchdown during the first quarter of last years game, which is the third-longest run in school history.Another thing that pleases Fisher is that he feels like Cook is starting to hit his groove at the right time. Cook struggled during the second half of last season with hamstring problems and missed one game due to an ankle injury but appears to be healthy this year.Cook and the rest of the Seminoles though should benefit from a bye next week before an Oct. 29 showdown with No. 3 Clemson. Last year FSUs bye came early as it played nine straight weeks.Hes 210-215 pounds. He gets his rest, coach Jimbo Fisher said. The number of plays is not a ton, and I know (sophomore running back Jacques Patrick) has been cutting down on some touches lately because weve thrown it a little bit more at times the last couple weeks. Hes never perfect, but hes getting in that groove.---Online: The APs college football page: http://collegfootball.ap.org---Follow Joe on Twitter: www.twitter.com/joereedy and his work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/joe-reedy ' ' '