Ashwin in World T20 squad, Dhoni mentor
Ashwin recalled in shortest format after more than four years; Dhoni on board for World T20 campaign
MUMBAI: India picked off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in their 15-man squad for this year’s Twenty20 World Cup and named Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who led them to the 2007 title, as the team mentor on Wednesday.
Ashwin last played a Twenty20 International four years ago but was one of three specialist slow bowlers selected, along with legspinner Rahul Chahar and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy. The tournament begins next month.
“The wickets in the UAE are usually low and slow and you need an off-spinner in your side,” chief selector Chetan Sharma said on Wednesday.
Wrist-spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav were omitted and opener Shikhar Dhawan was also left out. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are likely to open for India while Ishan Kishan was picked as a third option. India also named three all-rounders in the squad -- Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.
Dhoni’s inclusion also signals a shift in what has for a long time been team management driven decision making.
MUMBAI: India selectors sprang a surprise by recalling Ravichandran Ashwin into the T20 World Cup squad, naming former skipper MS Dhoni as the mentor during the tournament India host but will be held in the UAE in October-november.
India’s selectors, all bowlers in their playing days, delivered a bowler-heavy 15-player squad. Ashwin had been in the international white-ball wilderness for four years and two months. The bigger call on Wednesday was naming the double World Cupwinning skipper Dhoni to mentor the team.
Dhoni’s inclusion, apart from the tactical nous he brings, signals a shift in what has for long been a team management (skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri) driven decision making. Shastri is expected to end his long tenure as head coach after the World Cup.
Asked whether the team management had requested for Dhoni to join the squad, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said it was his decision. “I spoke to MS and he was OK and agreed to be a mentor of team India. I also discussed with my colleagues. I spoke to captain, the vice-captain (Rohit Sharma) and Ravi Shastri. They are on the same page,” he said in a virtual media meet.
Interestingly, despite Kohli’s declaration at the end of the England T20 series earlier in the year that he would open, the selectors are of the view that he can serve the team better in the middle order. “We have three openers in Rohit, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan,” chief selector Chetan Sharma said. “If Virat plays in the middle order, he can be an asset for the team and others can play around him. After that if the team management wants a last-minute change, they will see.”
In the final T20 of that England series, Kohli opened with Rohit Sharma and they delivered a 94-run fast-paced partnership. That match was six months ago and Kohli couldn’t replicate the same form as an opener in the IPL matches that followed.
Sharma called Kishan a floater who can open or bat in the middle order. He being a lefthander went in his favour, to remain an option if India’s righthanded top order needs to be shuffled. On expected lines, the biggest white-ball find of last season, Suryakumar Yadav, will play his first World Cup and Rishabh Pant will be the first-choice wicket keeper.
Spin focus
The other talking point of the side is the spin focus of the selectors with wickets expected to slow down in the UAE due to the wear and tear from a monthlong IPL. Leg spnner Yuzvendra Chahal, India’s leading T20 spinner for quite some time, is a surprise exclusion. “We wanted someone who could bowl quicker on those wickets. Rahul Chahar bowls with more speed,” said Sharma.
To drive home the point that they are expecting spinners to call the shots, the selectors also named Varun Chakravarthy, the only mystery spinner on the Indian circuit, all of three T20 internationals old. His problems with the yo-yo fitness benchmark didn’t become an obstacle to his selection. A source from the selection room reveals Kohli himself was very keen that Chakravarthy should be picked. “Varun is a surprise package. The main reason behind his choice is that he is a mystery spinner. We ourselves don’t understand what he will bowl, what will the batsmen understand?” Sharma said proudly of the 30-year-old TNPL find. Ravindra Jadeja is the regular member and fifth spinner in the squad.
Ashwin returns
Ashwin’s return became an easier call for the selectors to make after Washington Sundar was ruled out due to injury. Ashwin, who has been cooling his heels in the England Test series, had been side-lined after the 2017 Champions Trophy when the then selection committee, together with Kohli, took a judgement call to consciously look for wrist spinners. The wily spinner that he is, Ashwin has since reinvented himself with his variations, going beyond the conventional off-spinner’s stock ball that he bowls. It took a World Cup failure and the value of his experience for him to break back into the Indian side. Axar Patel with his left-arm variety completes India’s fourpronged spin attack.
Only three pacers
The selectors have chosen only three fast bowlers in the main squad. Jasprit Bumrah, the automatic choice as spearhead, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will primarily be tasked with the new ball and death overs duties while Mohammed Shami will be their backup seamer. Surprisingly, Shardul Thakur, despite his recent all-round showing in England and his consistent white ball efforts, was overlooked. He has been named as one of the three reserves outside the 15.
“Looking at the wickets (expected), we choose utility players—spinners and all-rounders rather than keep players (fast bowlers) who have to be sit out,” Sharma said. Hardik Pandya will bowl his entire quota of overs, Sharma added.
The other all-round option India had was Deepak Chahar, who had staked claim with impressive all-round showings in Sri Lanka. He too will be one of the reserves.