Sourav Ganguly Surprised as Rahane Misses England ODI Bus

New Delhi: Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has been known to call a spade and the Indian selection committee’s decision to ignore Ajinkya Rahane for the ODI series in England hasn’t gone down too well with the former skipper and he felt that the Test deputy has been handed a rough deal even as MSK Prasad and his team picked in-form Chennai Super Kings batsman Ambati Rayudu for the ODI series in England.

"Ajinkya Rahane has missed out on limited-overs squad. A harsh decision. I would still pick Ajinkya Rahane ahead of Ambati Rayudu. Ajinkya Rahane is a far superior player in England where the ball is going to move. He has got a good record in England," Ganguly told India Today.

The national selection committee met to pick six squads on Tuesday. They picked the Test team against Afghanistan, the squad for the two-match T2OI series against Ireland, three-match T20I series against England, three-match ODI series against England, the India ‘A’ team for the one-day Tri-series against England Lions and West Indies ‘A’ and the India ‘A’ team for the two four-day games against West Indies ‘A’ and one four-day match against England Lions.

While selecting the ODI team for the England series, the selectors it seems have decided to reward a few young faces for their good performances in the ongoing Indian Premier League. Rayudu, who had been sidelined from the Indian team, has been brought back. Shreyas Iyer, who was part of the limited-overs team in South Africa, continues to be in the squad while pacer Siddarth Kaul has been handed a maiden India call-up.

It comes as further shock after the team management praised Rahane for his performance during the ODI series in South Africa. "We have explored many options in the last few months. We don't have too many series and too much time left before the World Cup, so we want to explore all the options before the World Cup," Kohli had told reporters.

"I had said earlier that Ajinkya Rahane would be looked at as a third opener but that situation can change because he has batted at No. 4 in a World Cup (in 2015) before. These conditions are such that you get to play fast bowling throughout the innings so he becomes a strong candidate for No. 4. Other than him we have Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey. We don't want to be one-dimensional. It depends whose technique is more suited to what spot especially in that particular country. All options are open."