Zeroing in on players for a couple of available World Cup spots, including a toss-up between left-arm pacers Jaydev Unadkat and Khaleel Ahmed, will be the BCCI selection committee's primary focus when it sits down in Mumbai on Friday, 15 February, to pick the squad for India’s limited overs series against Australia.
India will play two T20 Internationals and five ODIs, starting on 24 February, in what will be their last international assignment before the World Cup, which begins in England on 30 May.
The upcoming series against Australia is also expected to serve as an indicator as to who among Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik will board the Heathrow-bound flight in the back-up wicketkeeper/specialist middle-order batsman role.
KL Rahul is back in the mix as the third opener after a couple of good innings for India A against England Lions in the two unofficial Tests.
While the two T20I matches will be a pre-cursor to the ODI series, vice-captain Rohit Sharma is likely to be given a short break to rejuvenate and come back fresh for the ODIs.
The selectors are believed to have identified 13 certainties for the World Cup, and there are at least four contenders for the last two slots depending on the combination the team management would want.
13 Reported ‘Certainties’ for India’s WC Squad
- Virat Kohli
- Rohit Sharma
- Shikhar Dhawan
- Ambati Rayudu
- Mahendra Singh Dhoni
- Kedar Jadhav
- Hardik Pandya
- Vijay Shankar
- Yuzvendra Chahal
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Mohammed Shami
Skipper Kohli and pace spearhead Bumrah are expected to be back in action for the final dress rehearsal, and the selectors are unlikely to look beyond 16 to 17 players who are in the scheme of things for the World Cup.
A shoot-out is expected between Karthik and Pant, who are both finishers in their own right. Pant could also double up as the third opener, although Rahul is also in contention as he has the team management’s backing.
Left-Arm Seamer for Variety?
While Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar and Shami are certainties in the pace department, the bone of contention is a left-arm seamer, who will add variation to the lineup.
Khaleel, who played in Australia and New Zealand, looked like a work in progress. Unadkat, who has only sporadically played for India since his debut in 2010, is suddenly back in contention after a great domestic campaign. He comes with far more experience courtesy his IPL stints.
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