Job simplified for the Selection panel?

The selectors had done the first step of simplifying their own job by excluding some senior players who have not been in the best of form in the recent past from the Probables List for the Champions Trophy. The Champions Trophy is slated to be held in England next month and the 30-member list of probables was announced earlier in April which would further be pruned to 15 come tomorrow. While statements given on a number of occasions across different selection panels have tried to explain that IPL will not be the basis for selection into the national team, it could well be the last lap of a race for a couple of spots as far as ODIs are concerned.

When the 30-member list was announced last month, it did not raise too many eyebrows when Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh were left out.  With a number of talented youngsters knocking at their doors with creditable performances backed by electric fielding abilities, the selectors did the right thing of honouring meritocracy and not providing longer ropes to players who were nearing the end of their borrowed time.

The selection meeting to be held tomorrow might not be a long one with most players picking themselves but for a couple of places.

In the batting line-up, Shikhar’s Dhawan fitness was a concern when he injured his finger while playing the test series against Australia. But his roaring return with 2 strong and unbeaten fifties in 3 matches, he has propelled himself right into one of the openers’ playing slots, and not just an entry into the squad. Ajinkya Rahane and Gautam Gambhir should see themselves on the flight to England but would probably need to slug it out for the other opening spot, with both having decent runs in the IPL.

The middle order is pretty much settled for the Indian team with Kohli, Raina and Dhoni forming the crux. The No. 6 in the batting line-up (assuming captain MS Dhoni will push himself up the order, the way he has done with the CSK batting line-up) could well be taken over by Rohit Sharma. For a talent that is indisputable and profuse, an average of less than 31 after playing 83 innings at the International level does little justice to the bid to cement his place in the Indian middle order. His average of under 13 in thirteen innings in 2012 does not help the cause either. But with his blazing form in the IPL, he has all but dismissed a denial of another chance. Having scored 375 runs from 10 innings at an average of 53.6 and with a strike rate of 150 in the ongoing IPL season, hope is for him to carry on the form into next month’s inter-country affair too.

His Mumbai Indian team-mate Dinesh Karthik who’s been in brilliant form with the bat has a strong case to be picked in the team as well. Dinesh Karthik, apart from offering a batting option, could also serve as the reserve wicket-keeper, an important slot in the squad while playing overseas.

In the bowling arena, Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar should continue from the previous ODI series played against England. Vinay Kumar makes for a strong bid with his IPL performances. Leaving aside 3 spots combined for spinners and all-rounders, the only other spot for a pacer could be a head-on between Praveen Kumar and Umesh Yadav. While what works to Umesh’s advantage is his speed, a variation from the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Vinay Kumar, his significance in the tour to South Africa later in the year along with this injury-prone frame and bowling action could mean that selectors exercise some caution and omit him from the shorter format for the time-being. Wouldn’t that amount to having a pace pool after all? If Praveen Kumar is indeed picked ahead of Umesh Yadav, it could well mean a definite spot for Ishant Sharma in the playing eleven as he would be the only one from the fast-bowling department capable of generating some pace and bounce in the wet English conditions.

An ODI tournament in England would mean no more than 2 places for slow bowlers. I suspect Ashwin to get the nod ahead of Amit Mishra for the genuine spinner’s role with his ability to bowl subtle variations pushed ahead by performances in the recent test series against Australia which won him the Player of the series award. Jadeja, for his genuine all-rounder capabilities and his recent bowling performances (again a key performer against Australia), would be a certainty in the squad. It is well-known that for the flexibility he lends to the team, he has the backing of the captain as well.

Purely by virtue of being a fast-bowling all-rounder, Irfan Pathan could well be picked for the other all-rounder’s role in the team and complete the 15 member squad.

The selection meeting could well be a short one if however, Cheteswar Pujara fails to make himself available. There were rumours about his fitness when he was not picked in the original squad of 30 with both his knee and a fractured finger giving him trouble. There was another theory doing the rounds that the selectors would prefer him to tour South Africa with the India A team (to familiarise himself with the conditions), which could potentially clash with some parts of the Champions Trophy. Between the two the lines of speculation, fitness could well be a factor since he has not played a single game for the Royal Challengers Bangalore this season and there is no news on that front either.

On selection matters, there is a school of thought that Pujara would not be so well suited for the shorter format due to his non-aggressive style of play. But one would only need to turn back to India’s performance on their last full tour to England in 2011 to understand the importance of a player who can anchor the innings even for a 50-over a side match. And as if to pre-empt and take wind out of that argument against him, Pujara scored a series aggregate of 419 runs at a more than healthy strike rate of 62.4 in the test series against Australia earlier this year.

Since the ICC rules do not prohibit the countries from picking a player in the final squad from outside the provisional list, Pujara could well be under consideration for a place. If he manages to clear fitness concerns, Pujara should ideally be given a go-ahead in place of one of the contenders to lend some balance to the side.

Probable Squad: MS Dhoni (Captain and wicket-keeper), Virat Kohli (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar and Cheteshwar Pujara (subject on fitness) or Gautam Gambhir.