Young Rishabh Pant took a giant stride towards realising his World Cup dream, pipping veteran Dinesh Karthik in the 15-member ODI squad for the Australia series while KL Rahul all but clinched the reserve opener’s slot for the mega event by earning a recall.
KL Rahul; Rishabh Pant
Mumbai:
Regular captain Virat Kohli and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah are also back in the squad for the entire Australia series after a break and even vice-captain Rohit Sharma will not be resting.
The committee headed by MSK Prasad also announced the T20 squad for the two-match series, in which rookie Punjab leg-spinner Mayank Markande made the cut and Kuldeep Yadav was rested.
However, all eyes were on the ODI squad which is supposed to be a mirror image of the team that will be travelling to England. One of the biggest calls was regarding the second wicketkeeper-cum-reserve batsman’s slot. Karthik seems to have missed the bus to a much younger Pant, who is considered to be the future of Indian cricket and heir apparent to Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps.
Karthik was criticised for his on-field decision-making during the lost final T20 International against New Zealand in Hamilton. The Tamil Nadu veteran refused a single when Krunal Pandya was on a rampage at the other end.
Karthik later justified the call by saying that he was confident of pulling off a six which didn’t happen as India lost by four runs.
Pant, on the other hand, is yet to get a significant knock in ODIs but his big-hitting prowess has made him a potential match-winner in big-ticket events like the World Cup.
“That we have included him (Pant) considering many factors. He is a left-hander and we needed to discuss with the team management, which we have already done,” Prasad said after the meeting.
“Virat was also a part of the meeting. We will try and figure out the best possible batting position, because being a left-hander, there is an advantage of playing left-right combination, we are discussing all that,” Prasad added.
Prasad also dropped elaborate hints that Pant, who is expected to bat in the top-order, was always in the reckoning for the Australia series.
“Definitely. Prior to this series, we had two series in New Zealand and Australia and that’s where Karthik was chosen because Rishabh played four Test matches. “So we wanted him to get a good break. He had a 20-day break, then he played couple of ODIs against England lions where he did well, then we send him to T20 matches. We want to give him a few games before taking a final call,” said the former India stumper, informing that 30-member probables list will be released by March 25.
Karthik’s chances of making it to the World Cup are even more slim after Rahul made the cut on the back of his 89 and 81 for India A against England Lions. Punjab seamer Siddarth Kaul seems to have joined the race for the fourth pacer’s slot at the business end of the preparation cycle.
Kaul made it to the first two ODIs from which Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been rested but more importantly, there are no left-arm seamers in the line-up.
Khaleel Ahmed, who was a disappointment in New Zealand, has been dropped and with Jaydev Unadkat not considered for selection, it is unlikely that the scenario will change prior to the World Cup unless there are some ground-breaking performances in the IPL.
Vijay Shankar’s decent run with the bat in New Zealand has “changed the dynamics of the squad”.
While the selectors announced two different teams for the first two and last three ODIs, the side that is expected to travel to England will be the one for the last three games of the series. The engagement with Australia starts February 24 with the first T20 International in Visakhapatnam, while the World Cup is scheduled from May 30. Rahul returned to the side after he was controversially called back midway through the tour of Australia following his and all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s loose talk on women in a TV show.
Regular captain Virat Kohli and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah are also back in the squad for the entire Australia series after a break and even vice-captain Rohit Sharma will not be resting.
The committee headed by MSK Prasad also announced the T20 squad for the two-match series, in which rookie Punjab leg-spinner Mayank Markande made the cut and Kuldeep Yadav was rested.
However, all eyes were on the ODI squad which is supposed to be a mirror image of the team that will be travelling to England. One of the biggest calls was regarding the second wicketkeeper-cum-reserve batsman’s slot. Karthik seems to have missed the bus to a much younger Pant, who is considered to be the future of Indian cricket and heir apparent to Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps.
Karthik was criticised for his on-field decision-making during the lost final T20 International against New Zealand in Hamilton. The Tamil Nadu veteran refused a single when Krunal Pandya was on a rampage at the other end.
Karthik later justified the call by saying that he was confident of pulling off a six which didn’t happen as India lost by four runs.
Pant, on the other hand, is yet to get a significant knock in ODIs but his big-hitting prowess has made him a potential match-winner in big-ticket events like the World Cup.
“That we have included him (Pant) considering many factors. He is a left-hander and we needed to discuss with the team management, which we have already done,” Prasad said after the meeting.
“Virat was also a part of the meeting. We will try and figure out the best possible batting position, because being a left-hander, there is an advantage of playing left-right combination, we are discussing all that,” Prasad added.
Prasad also dropped elaborate hints that Pant, who is expected to bat in the top-order, was always in the reckoning for the Australia series.
“Definitely. Prior to this series, we had two series in New Zealand and Australia and that’s where Karthik was chosen because Rishabh played four Test matches. “So we wanted him to get a good break. He had a 20-day break, then he played couple of ODIs against England lions where he did well, then we send him to T20 matches. We want to give him a few games before taking a final call,” said the former India stumper, informing that 30-member probables list will be released by March 25.
Karthik’s chances of making it to the World Cup are even more slim after Rahul made the cut on the back of his 89 and 81 for India A against England Lions. Punjab seamer Siddarth Kaul seems to have joined the race for the fourth pacer’s slot at the business end of the preparation cycle.
Kaul made it to the first two ODIs from which Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been rested but more importantly, there are no left-arm seamers in the line-up.
Khaleel Ahmed, who was a disappointment in New Zealand, has been dropped and with Jaydev Unadkat not considered for selection, it is unlikely that the scenario will change prior to the World Cup unless there are some ground-breaking performances in the IPL.
Vijay Shankar’s decent run with the bat in New Zealand has “changed the dynamics of the squad”.