The Indian limited overs squad for the Australian tour was also announced on the same day when the test squad was announced. After the 2019 World Cup debacle where India was expected to reach the final if not win the cup, the Indian limited overs team is fairly settled. Number 4, 5 and Number 6 slots appear to be filled be able players who can play the waiting game and at the sametime, will be able to take the game away from the opposition. Shreyas Iyer, Rahul & Manish Pandey are occupying these slots.
In the 2019 World Cup, the Indian team experimented with Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant and Vijay Shankar. Just a look at the names will tell us how wrong was the selection. Tailenders were asked to bat at the crucial spot of number 4. No wonder, the team failed miserably against New Zealand in the semi-final. The BCCI alongwith Kohli and Shastri must be blamed for such shoddy selection. The BCCI, Kohli & Shastri have learned their lesson albeit it took the magnitude of a World Cup loss. Shreyas Iyer is firmly in control of number 4 with Rahul at 5 and Pandey at 6. Players who should have originally played at the World Cup. Since then, the team has witnessed mixed results with 50% wins but the sample is too less to be subjected to any judgement.
Most of the players are automatically selected because of their performance over the last several years. There isn’t a question mark against most of them. However, the selection of some of the players does raise questions.
The selection of Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan is one of the mainstay of the Indian ODI team. He has been prolific at the top of the order. There is absolutely no doubt about this spot in the playing eleven in ODI cricket. However, his selection for T20 raises a lot of questions. Wasn’t he recently dropped from the T20 team because of non-performance? Didn’t Rohit & Rahul form an explosive opening partnership? Understandably, Rohit is injured but what is the need to go back to Dhawan? Hasn’t the so called IPL thrown enough options? If not, why is that tournament even conducted? Ishan Kishan, Surya Kumar Yadav, Padikkal, Jaiswal or some of them who comes to mind. Why does the BCCI always goes back to the tried and failed players?
The non-selection of Kuldeep Yadav
The selectors have taken a good decision in not selecting Kuldeep Yadav for the T20 team. Yadav is among the rare breed. A left arm leg spinner. He will do really well in Test cricket and probably in ODI too but T20 will certainly set his confidence back. Hence, this is something that must be appreciated.
Rahul’s role
If Rohit Sharma is definitely ruled out of the limited overs, I hope Kohli will not push Rahul to open the innings. It is fairly well known that Rahul does not like to open. His performances are a proof of that. The same Rahul in the middle order is a different beast. He can tear any bowling apart and propel the team to high enough scores. This is not only in ODI but also in T20. Agreed that in the IPL he has scored lots of runs as an opener but opening is not his favourite slot at the international level.
Bumrah & Shami
Bumrah and Shami are very much essential in the test series. They will be coming off from the gruelling IPL. It does not make any sense to play them in T20s. Let them play the ODIs to get an understanding of the Australian wickets but they must not play in T20s.
Absolutely no information about Kumar
Again, it is baffling that Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, who is an absolute best in limited overs, is not mentioned anywhere. He is neither in the T20 squad nor in the ODI squad. Yes he is injured but isn’t the selectors atleast have the courtesy to inform the public that Kumar was not considered only because of his injury? Wouldn’t that give the bowler some confidence as well? Now, Kumar himself will be unsure why isn’t he in any of the team.
Mayank Agarwal & Shubnam Gill
Also, it is time the selectors looks at Mayank Agarwal as a test specialist and a backup opener in ODIs. He must not be part of T20 squad. He is a technically sound player and T20 will certainly mess up his technique. India cannot afford that. Shubnam Gill, who is touted as the future of the Indian team, will have to play in all the games especially in Rohit’s absence. It is time to build a team for the 2023 World Cup.
Conclusion
Overall, this is a balanced team but this tour is more about the test series than about limited overs. Certainly, T20s are the last priority. The team must focus on winning the ODI series and the Test Series.
Other topics on the same subject can be read here, here and here.