Published: May 21, 2015, 08:00 AM (IST)
Edited: May 21, 2015, 02:50 PM (IST)
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selected a full-fledged experienced squad for the one-off Test against Bangladesh which will start on June 10 at Mirpur. Sudatta Mukherjee feels that the Sandeep Patil-led selection committee could have easily selected few young talents in the side.
The last time India toured Bangladesh was in 2010. On that occasion they won both Tests to register yet another series victory against the neighbours. The Indian squad had consisted of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan.
On Wednesday, Sandeep Patil-led selection committee announced the 15-member squad for the one-off Test against Bangladesh, which will start on June 10 in Mirpur. Virat Kohli, who took over the captaincy of the Test side following MS Dhoni’s retirement, will lead the squad. While BCCI decided to recall Harbhajan Singh after two years, it is quite puzzling to see a full-fledged squad being selected for the tour. READ: Harbhajan does not need to prove anything to anyone, says Sunil Gavaskar
Somewhere last week, there was a news making rounds that Kohli had requested BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur to let him rest following the conclusion of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015. There were also rumours that several senior cricketers had requested BCCI for a break. However, did not turn out to be the case. BCCI decided to select a full squad for the one-off Test and three One-Day Internationals (ODIs). READ: India announces squads for Bangladesh tour
However, it would have been better if BCCI would have chosen some fresh talents for the one-off Test.
While it may be true that India selected an experienced squad keeping in mind Bangladesh’s brilliant performance against Pakistan at their home stronghold, it was also shocking to see Harbhajan Singh back in the squad. [Link Sandipan and Pramod’s articles here]
Test Squad:
Virat Kohli (C), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Ishant Sharma.
ODI Squad:
MS Dhoni (C & WK), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Stuart Binny, Dhawal Kulkarni
If First-Class cricket is a parameter for Test selection, one could easily go back to Kedar Jadhav, Naman Ojha and Hanuma Vihari ahead of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha. Even Robin Uthappa, who had an incredible Ranji Trophy 2014-15, deserved a chance.
Let us see which players did well consistently in the last two seasons of Ranji Trophy.
Batting stats for Ranji Trophy 2013-14
|
Players |
M |
I |
NO |
R |
HS |
Ave |
100s |
50s |
| Kedar Jadhav |
11 |
17 |
3 |
1223 |
204 |
87.35 |
6 |
2 |
| KL Rahul |
10 |
17 |
2 |
1033 |
158 |
68.86 |
3 |
4 |
| Harshad Khadiwale |
11 |
20 |
3 |
1004 |
262 |
59.05 |
3 |
4 |
| Saurabh Tiwary |
7 |
14 |
1 |
854 |
238 |
65.69 |
1 |
6 |
| Faiz Fazal |
8 |
14 |
1 |
845 |
147 |
65.00 |
2 |
6 |
| Hanuma Vihari |
8 |
11 |
2 |
841 |
201* |
93.44 |
3 |
4 |
| Yogesh Takawale |
8 |
15 |
1 |
839 |
212 |
59.92 |
3 |
3 |
| Naman Ojha |
7 |
13 |
1 |
835 |
211 |
69.58 |
4 |
1 |
| Mahesh Rawat |
9 |
13 |
1 |
820 |
188 |
68.33 |
3 |
5 |
| Jiwanjot Singh |
10 |
17 |
0 |
802 |
200 |
47.17 |
2 |
4 |
Batting stats for Ranji Trophy 2014-15
|
Players |
M |
I |
NO |
R |
HS |
Ave |
100s |
50s |
| KL Rahul |
7 |
12 |
0 |
1174 |
337 |
97.83 |
4 |
3 |
| Robin Uthappa |
14 |
24 |
1 |
1158 |
156 |
50.34 |
3 |
6 |
| Dinesh Karthik |
13 |
22 |
3 |
893 |
129 |
47.00 |
4 |
2 |
| Karun Nair |
12 |
19 |
1 |
880 |
328 |
48.88 |
1 |
3 |
| Naman Ojha |
9 |
15 |
1 |
879 |
217 |
62.78 |
3 |
3 |
| Abhinav Mukund |
11 |
20 |
1 |
858 |
140 |
45.15 |
2 |
4 |
| Hanuma Vihari |
9 |
13 |
2 |
856 |
263 |
77.81 |
3 |
3 |
| Paras Digra |
8 |
10 |
2 |
839 |
230* |
104.9 |
4 |
0 |
| Sheldon Jackson |
8 |
14 |
2 |
819 |
181* |
68.25 |
3 |
3 |
| Shreyas Iyer |
10 |
17 |
1 |
809 |
153 |
50.56 |
2 |
6 |
Going by the figures, KL Rahul, already in the squad, has been in the top two for the last two seasons. The other two players in the top 10 are Naman and Vihari. BCCI could have easily rested some of the exhausted senior players, having Cheteshwar Pujara or Ajinkya Rahane to lead the side in the one-off Test. The likes of Naman and Vihari could have made it to the squad and probably playing eleven.
Admitted, Saha has not played much domestic cricket as he was travelling with the Indian squad and has not got many chances to play international cricket despite being part of the squad. However, with four wicketkeepers topping the charts — Uthappa (albeit a limited-overs wicketkeeper), Dinesh Karthik, Karun Nair and Naman, BCCI could have opted to select another wicketkeeper, who is a good batsman as well.
Let us now see the bowlers who have done well over the last two First-Class seasons.
Bowling stats for Ranji Trophy 2013-14
|
Player |
M |
I |
Wkts |
BBI |
BBM |
Ave |
5WIs |
10WIs |
| Rishi Dhawan |
8 |
16 |
49 |
5/29 |
10/87 |
20.3 |
6 |
1 |
| Anureet Singh |
8 |
14 |
44 |
5/52 |
9/160 |
17.56 |
5 |
0 |
| Abhimanyu Mithun |
10 |
17 |
41 |
6/52 |
11/110 |
24 |
2 |
1 |
| Ashok Dinda |
9 |
15 |
40 |
7/82 |
10/157 |
25.97 |
2 |
1 |
| Pankaj Singh |
8 |
14 |
39 |
5/30 |
8/112 |
22.46 |
3 |
0 |
| Vishal Dabholkar |
9 |
18 |
39 |
6/38 |
10/125 |
26.76 |
1 |
1 |
| Jaspreet Bumrah |
8 |
15 |
38 |
5/52 |
8/106 |
21.15 |
2 |
0 |
| Amit Yadav |
7 |
13 |
37 |
7/68 |
9/88 |
20.51 |
3 |
0 |
| Sandeep Sharma |
8 |
15 |
36 |
6/50 |
9/111 |
23.58 |
2 |
0 |
| Jalaj Saxena |
8 |
12 |
35 |
7/82 |
13/124 |
19.68 |
3 |
2 |
Bowling stats for Ranji Trophy 2014-15
|
Player |
M |
I |
Wkts |
BBI |
BBM |
Ave |
5WIs |
10WIs |
| Shardul Thakur |
12 |
22 |
57 |
6/53 |
9/123 |
22.66 |
6 |
0 |
| R Vinay Kumar |
13 |
24 |
55 |
6/20 |
9/90 |
21.09 |
3 |
0 |
| Abhimanyu Mithun |
13 |
26 |
47 |
5/31 |
8/84 |
24.95 |
1 |
0 |
| Rishi Dhawan |
10 |
17 |
47 |
7/93 |
11/185 |
27.44 |
4 |
1 |
| D Siva Kumar |
9 |
15 |
44 |
7/30 |
12/120 |
14.25 |
4 |
2 |
| Basant Mohanty |
9 |
16 |
44 |
6/42 |
10/85 |
17.15 |
2 |
1 |
| Sreenath Aravind |
11 |
21 |
44 |
4/9 |
8/61 |
18.11 |
0 |
0 |
| Pankaj Singh |
9 |
16 |
43 |
5/109 |
7/97 |
22.04 |
1 |
0 |
| Shreyas Gopal |
13 |
23 |
40 |
4/39 |
7/90 |
28.00 |
0 |
0 |
| Samad Fallah |
10 |
19 |
39 |
5/36 |
8/128 |
22.61 |
2 |
0 |
Rishi Dhawan has been doing considerably well with the ball over the last two seasons. He also has a batting average of 40.39. India do not have plenty of all-rounders, and to have a youngster like Rishi performing consistently well is a good sign.
Abhimanyu Mithun never got a long run at the international level due to the availability of better options. However, with him doing good for Karnataka, BCCI should have given one more chance to the 25-year-old.
Young Shardul Thakur’s good domestic season is a bright sign for the future of Indian cricket. All BCCI needs is to consider the young talents and select and prepare them well for international cricket. Playing for Mumbai Indians will be good for me, says Abhimanyu Mithun
It might be true that after the heated India-Bangladesh ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 quarter-final, BCCI might not want to take a chance and slip and let Bangladesh win the one-off Test. However, at some point of time, the Patil-led selection committee need to look beyond the current options.
(Sudatta Mukherjee is a reporter with CricketCountry. Other than writing on cricket, she spends penning random thoughts on her blog. When she is not writing, you will catch her at a movie theatre or watching some English television show on her laptop. Her Twitter handle is @blackrosegal)
