The 15 who could make it an Indian summer in England
MUMBAI: India’s 15-member World Cup squad, announced after an hour-long meeting at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headquarters in Mumbai, is very much a team the way captain Virat Kohli likes it: packed with options. The settled and explosive opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma was not tampered with, with KL Rahul drafted in as a back-up. Yet the selection left a big question mark on the meat of the batting order, with the No.4 slot left open, and no left-handed batsmen in the middle order.
Dinesh Karthik was picked over India’s Test wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, surprising many experts. Pant, who scored a riveting Test century on the counterattack at the Oval last year, and then produced another breathtaking hundred during the Test series win in Australia earlier this year, was considered inferior to Karthik as a back-up keeper to MS Dhoni.
“All of us, in unison, we felt that either Rishabh Pant or DK will come into the playing eleven, if Mahi is injured,” chief selector MSK Prasad said after announcing the squad. “So at that juncture, if it is a crucial match like a quarter-final or a semi-final or an important game, wicket-keeping also matters. That’s the only reason we went with Karthik. Otherwise, Pant was almost there.”
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said he was ‘surprised’ by Pant’s omission. “He was batting exceptionally well, not only in IPL but before that also. He was showing great improvement in his wicket-keeping as well. He brings that left-handed option in the top-six which is very handy against the bowlers,” he told a TV channel. Kohli has plenty to pick from in the bowling department, with three specialist seamers in Jasprit Bumra, Mohammed Shami, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar; two match-winning spinners in Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, and four allrounders who have all proven themselves very handy with the ball: Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar and Ravindra Jadeja. Former India fast bowler Irfan Pathan pointed out that Bumrah will be the key in this varied bowling attack.
He is going to be very crucial in the death over because in England they have two balls. In 50 overs there is a new ball from both the ends,” Pathan said. “There is not a lot of reverse that you get to see. So, when it doesn’t reverse its important to bowl good yorkers. Bumrah has the quality, action and pace.”
The inexperienced but promising Vijay Shankar, 28, is also seen as an option at No 4 alongside back-up opener KL Rahul, and will add more variety to the already potent pace department. There was no room for experienced middle-order batsman Ambati Rayudu, after a few failures.
The selectors were given a data analytics presentation before the meeting, dissecting the scoring areas of Karthik in the middle overs and Pant’s success in the slog overs.
It is learnt the Indian team’s data analyst CKM Dhananjay prepared a package doing a SWOT analysis, of the World Cup hopefuls as well as opposition since the 2017 Champions Trophy.
›
The Indian team is a balanced side and one of the strong contenders for the title. I’ve monitored Bhuvi and Vijay while they were on SRH duties. They look in great shape.
›
VVS LAXMAN, SRH mentor Dinesh Karthik is better at closing games as it stands right now. After the World Cup I would start introducing Rishabh Pant.
›
SCOTT STYRIS, ex-kiwi player
If it is a crucial match like a quarter-final or a semi-final, wicket-keeping also matters. That’s the only reason we went with Karthik. Otherwise, Pant was almost there.
›
MSK PRASAD, Chief selector
No @Rishabpant777 in the World Cup Squad ... India must be bonkers !!!!!
M VAUGHAN, ex-england skipper
MUMBAI : The logic behind the two most contentious selections of the day haven’t been convincing but Dinesh Karthik and Vijay Shankar it is for this World Cup.
If experience and skill was the yardstick in picking Karthik over Rishabh Pant, Shankar’s inclusion should have another.
Chief selector MSK Prasad said at the press conference, preceded by a very brief selection meeting, that Karthik’s better keeping helped him pip Pant to the second wicket-keeper’s slot.
This could be a direct fallout of Pant’s shoddy wicket-keeping in India’s last ODI series, against Australia, where Karthik had been dropped and MS Dhoni had withdrawn from the last two ODIS. Pant missed two stumping chances off Yuzvendra Chahal in the 44th over and India lost the game despite scoring 358.
“It’s definitely a case where we have debated at length. And all of us, in unison, we felt that either Rishabh Pant or DK will come into the playing eleven if Mahi is injured,” Prasad said. “So at that juncture, if it is a crucial match like a quarter-final or a semi-final or an important game, wicket-keeping also matters. That’s the only reason we went with Dinesh Karthik. Otherwise, Rishabh Pant was almost there. Pant is full of talent, there’s lot of time for him. It’s just unfortunate that he missed out,” said Prasad.
BETTER FINISHER
Prasad also said Karthik is also a backup for No 4 and is a better finisher under pressure. He had a decent 2018 Asia Cup with scores of 33, 31, 44 and 37. In the Australia and New Zealand series that followed, he had innings of 12, 25*, 38* and 0 —not good enough to merit selection for the ODIS against Australia at home. He was duly dropped, and Pant came in.
Pant, on the other hand, has played five ODIS with 93 runs in four innings at an average of 23.2 with a highest score of 36. But what’s appealing is his strike rate that has consistently hovered above 100.
Sources say that a couple of selectors were even convinced of his usefulness at No 4; being a left-handed batsman was a bonus.
The only innings Pant played at that position, he got 16 off 16 against Australia in Delhi. It can be argued that Pant has never had the freedom in ODIS that he enjoys in Tests, where he has been given the licence to go after bowlers. Given the right backing, he may have thrived in ODIS as well.
SHANKAR AT NO 4
Equally debatable is the choice of Vijay Shankar for the No 4 spot. While Shankar was a strong candidate for the allrounder’s spot, he has never batted at No 4 in ODIS. In nine ODIS, he has got 165 runs with a highest of 46. He has played a few good cameos but the role of a No 4 often demands a long, well-crafted and well-paced innings.
Here too, the explanation didn’t sound right.
“After that Champions trophy, we have tried quite a few middle order batsmen, which also includes Dinesh Karthik. We also tried Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey,” Prasad said. “We did give a few more chances to Rayudu. But what Vijay Shankar offers is three-dimensional, apart from his batting he can bowl. If the conditions are overcast, which we might encounter in England, he might bowl a bit and he’s a fantastic fielder. That’s the thing that went in favour of him.”