Published: Jan 26, 2016, 11:33 AM (IST)
Edited: Jan 26, 2016, 11:33 AM (IST)
Sourav Ganguly admitted that he was surprised when Manish Pandey was not named injured Ajinkya Rahane’s replacement in the upcoming three-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series. Rahane, who injured his right hand during the fourth One-Day International (ODI) against Australia at Canberra has been replaced by Gurkeerat Singh for the T20I series that begins on Tuesday. Ganguly analysed India’s T20I series ahead of the first match as he said, “Dhoni will have a lot of goto bowlers in the T20s, with the likes of Raina, Yuvraj, and Gurkeerat, and so it will be interesting to see how he shapes his playing XI.” FULL SCORECARD: India vs Australia, 1st T20I at Adelaide
According to Times of India, he added, “I am surprised that Manish Pandey has not replaced Ajinkya Rahane with the selectors persisting with Gurkeerat. This is where selection comes in and with it team building. One has to reward an exceptional performance and it is sad to see him heading back home.”
Rahane while stopping the ball was hit hard on the right hand which resulted in he split the webbing on his right hand and immediately walked off the field. Rahane needed four stitches and later was ruled out of India’s remainder tour of Australia 2015-16.
The T20I series will witness a couple of comebacks of big names from both the camps. While Shaun Tait and Shane Watson are set to return in the yellow jersey, the likes of Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh will field in the limited-overs after a very long time. READ: India vs Australia T20I series 2015-16: Aaron Finch says, Australia have plans for Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina
Ganguly added, “India will have a spring in their steps after their convincing win at Sydney. The batting was superb in all five ODIs with Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli in full flow and now, backed by Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and of course captain Dhoni, they should be up to the task of taking on the Aussie bowling.”
“Bumrah should be an automatic choice but who will back him, is the question. Will it be Ashish Nehra along with Umesh Yadav or Rishi Dhawan? This is a big comeback for Nehra and I am sure he will be very keen to make a mark,” he said.
