Yuvraj Singh misses the berth for Lanka limited-over series
NEW DELHI Yuvraj Singh was dropped from the Indian squad for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka on Sunday in what could possibly signal an end to his illustrious career.
After a 50 against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy opener in June, Yuvraj hardly did anything notable, his last seven ODI innings fetching him only 162 runs. A senior BCCI official privy to selection policy said Yuvraj is no longer in contention for the 2019 World Cup in England. “His batting has lost sting. He rarely bowls and his fielding has gone down a few notches. If we have to prepare a team for the 2019 World Cup, we had to take a call now. In case of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, we still don’t have replacement but Yuvraj’s place has multiple contenders,” the official, who can’t be quoted, told PTI.
Another player dropped is young ‘keeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who has been replaced by KL Rahul, who is also a decent ‘keeper.
The national selection committee decided to rest all senior bowlers -- pacers Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav along with spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Jasprit Bumrah makes a comeback while Mumbai paceman Shardul Thakur has also been included. The spin department will be relatively young with leftarm spinner Axar Patel and legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal to support chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav.
Fit-again India A captain Manish Pandey has been recalled after leading the side to the Triseries win in South Africa.
Virat Kohli (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah.