India tour Australia 2015-16: Unfortunate for Shreyas Iyer, Amit Mishra and co but selectors have done well
India tour Australia 2015-16: Unfortunate for Shreyas Iyer, Amit Mishra and co. but selectors have done well
Ahead of the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 2007 in South Africa, senior Indian cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and then captain Rahul Dravid decided to opt out of the tournament. They felt the format demanded young legs and that prompted the unselfish move. What happened next was history as MS Dhoni marched bunch of young boys to a title win. Now eight years later, the theory seems to have altered. The theory of ‘youth for T20’ has made way for the ‘horses for courses’ with veteran cricketers like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra returning to the national side for the T20I series in Australia. This means they are very much in the contention of for the ICC World T20 2016, which starts in March. READ: India vs Australia 2015-16: Will Rishi Dhawan, Gurkeerat Singh, Hardik Pandya, Brainder Sran get an opportunity to shine?
Did they deserve this? Yes, they absolutely did. In all major tournaments where India have done well, Yuvraj has played a crucial role. His form for Punjab has been phenomenal as he has guided them to the knockout stage of the ongoing edition of Vijay Hazare Trophy. An average of over 85 with a strike-rate touching almost 104, Yuvraj’s form couldn’t be ignored. Not just T20, Yuvraj should also have been picked for the ODI side.
On the other hand, Harbhajan, Yuvraj’s state captain, had done brilliantly in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and was one of the reasons that Mumbai Indians had done so well in the tournament. It’s true that the Sardar from Jalandhar is well past his prime but if there’s one format where he still remains dangerous it’s the T20s.
It’s the same case with Nehra. The Delhi left-armer’s return to the national side is another chapter in the curious tale of his chequered career. His fielding was a spot of bother even when he made his national debut as a teenager in 1999 and now at 36, the standards have only deteriorated. However from Sourav Ganguly to Dhoni, his captains still prefer him. He hasn’t played a lot of late but taking his recent IPL outings into consideration, India surely don’t have many better bowlers in the shortest format than him.
Bold and fresh move: Indian selectors in the past have hesitated to pick two separate squads for ODIs and T20Is in away tours, so it was good to see them doing so. Also by dropping Suresh Raina, one of India’s all-time best limited-overs players from the ODI side, the selectors have made a statement that no one is indispensable. READ: Yuvraj Singh gifted an opportunity to prove his worth for India in Australia ahead of ICC World T20 2016
Raina’s form has hurt India lately and he has failed to make it count in the Vijay Hazare Trophy too where he has so far managed 55 runs at an average of 13.75. By picking the likes of Manish Pandey and Gurkeerat Singh, selectors are now clearly looking beyond names.
An ideal definition of a good all-rounder would be someone who could make it to the side purely as a batsman or purely as a bowler. India have persisted with Stuart Binny for long. It’s true that he didn’t get an extended opportunity but could he make it to the side purely on basis of one discipline? In comparison, a Ravindra Jadeja and Akshar Patel can do so purely on basis of bowling.
Rishi Dhawan has finally been given a chance for his consistent show with both, bat and ball. Not many average over 40 with the bat in First-Class cricket and less than 26 with the ball. Dhawan has a tendency to come up with a brilliant performance followed by a string of inconsistent shows. Here’s an opportunity for him and Team India will look for consistencies.
A couple of months back, VVS Laxman visiting CricketCountry office spoke highly of Hardik Pandya as an all-rounder. Pandya has been rewarded for the promise he has shown so far and picked in the T20 squad. India are in desperate need for a pace bowling all-rounder and with Binny now out of favour, here’s a golden chance for the young Baroda lad.
Unlucky: Not many have been dropped from the national side after scoring a match-winning hundred but luck hasn’t smiled often at Kedar Jadhav. The explosive Maharashtra batsman has scored runs at 57.33 in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy with a strike-rate of over 104, but still missed the bus. In his last ODI in Zimbabwe, he smashed an unbeaten century only to be dropped in the next series.
Similarly, Robin Uthappa will consider himself unlucky to miss out. He has been around the national fringes for longer than most and once again had a prolific Ranji Trophy season. Adding to that, he has been key to Kolkata Knight Riders’ fortunes in the IPL. He could have been a good back-up as a wicketkeeper to Dhoni.
Agreed that too many spinners wouldn’t have made sense in Australia but Amit Mishra has done very well in the limited opportunities he got. He was brilliant in the ICC World T20 in 2014 and is currently enjoying a honeymoon in Vijay Hazare Trophy. Mishra hasn’t received the fairest of treatments but with consistent performance in domestic cricket he can still make the cut for the T20 mega event.
With some many youngsters making it to the side, Shreyas Iyer having missed out will be hurt. The 21-year-old has amassed 930 runs in the Ranji Trophy so far this season at a strike-rate over 95. Iyer has been the best domestic batsman in India this season. Similarly, Shardul Thakur has been Mumbai’s best pacer in the recent years. Despite his consistency, he was again overlooked. Young Brainder Sran leapfrogs Thakur to a national berth; reason — the former is a left-armer and has done better lately.
Conclusion:Everyone can’t be happy at the same time but by preferring merit to reputation, the likes Iyers and Jadhavs can take it in their stride that if they continue to excel in domestic cricket, their time may come soon. READ: India’s squad for Australia features bold decisions that hold the promise of paying off
The cliché goes that an ideal team must consist a right mix of youth and experience and in that parameter the selectors have got it right for the T20 squad. New players draw a lot of interest and the performances in Australia will be keenly followed.
ODI squad: MS Dhoni (c&wk), ViratKohli (vc), ShikharDhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, AjinkyaRahane, Manish Pandey, RavindraJadeja, Mohammed Shami, Akshar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Brainder Sran.
T20I squad: MS Dhoni (c&wk), ViratKohli (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, AjinkyaRahane, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Harbhajan Singh, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra.
(Suvajit Mustafi consumes cricket for lunch, fiction for dinner and munches numerous other snacks throughout the day. Yes, jack of several trades, all Suvajit dreamt of was being India’s World Cup winning skipper but ended up being a sports writer, author, screenwriter, director, copywriter, graphic designer, sports marketer , strategist, entrepreneur, philosopher and traveller. Donning so many hats, it’s cricket which gives him the ultimate high and where he finds solace. He can be followed at @RibsGully and rivu7)