With India playing its last ODI series against Australia before the World Cup 2019, the selection committee’s main focus is to close the available spots for the mega event.
As per a report in The Indian Express, the MSK Prasad-led selection panel has already made up their mind on who the players would be that will board the flight for the quadrennial tournament, with only the final spot undecided.
Report also claims that national selectors want Ravindra Jadeja and Vijay Shankar to show their mettle in the ongoing 50-over series against Australia for a lone slot vacant in the Indian team. As a result, Jadeja was preferred over Yuzvendra Chahal in the first ODI at Hyderabad. Meanwhile, premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s injury opened the door for Shankar and the selectors are keen to see how the latter responds to the opportunity he gets.
Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are certain in the fast bowling department in addition to Pandya, who is currently undergoing specific training to shore up his core fitness.
Considering the way wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Chahal have become the architects of India’s awe-inspiring show in ODI cricket lately, things look rather bleak for veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to be considered for the showpiece event. He hasn’t featured in a limited-overs game for India since July 2017.
Therefore, the only point of discussion will be whether to go with Jadeja, whose athleticism saves runs on the ground, or Shankar, who is capable of big hitting when the team requires.
In another development, India’s team physiotherapist Patrick Farhat has sent the Indian cricketers’ current fitness assessment to respective IPL franchises which will help them in their workload management.
The World Cup starts on May 30 with South Africa taking on hosts England, while the two-time World champions India begin their campaign on June 5 against the Proteas at Southampton. On the other hand, IPL 2019 is all set to get underway from March 23 and is expected to culminate by the second week of May.
(With inputs from The Indian Express)
