KL Rahul is reportedly the front-runner to be named India’s vice-captain for the upcoming three-match ODI series against the West Indies at home, filling in for Shreyas Iyer who will be leading the Indian contingent at the Asian Games in Japan.
The squads for both the West Indies series and the Irani Cup are scheduled to be finalized on September 16, immediately following the conclusion of the second T20I against Afghanistan. The meeting will be attended by chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
Interestingly, this selection meeting will formally conclude Agarkar’s current contract period, which expires on October 4. While he is eligible for a one-year extension, the BCCI has maintained absolute silence, giving rise to recent speculation regarding a potential leadership transition within the selection committee.
Aside from the vice-captaincy, the primary talking point for the selectors during this session will be deciding the second wicketkeeper slot behind Rahul, with the choice coming down to Rishabh Pant or Dhruv Jurel as Ishan Kishan will also be on Asian Games duty.
"It is a choice between Pant and Jurel. Obviously, the head coach's and captain's points of view will be important," a BCCI source privy to selection matters told PTI.
If Pant fails to make the cut as second keeper, he would reportedly lead the Rest of India side in the Irani Cup against the defending Ranji champions Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar.
In case Pant is picked for India, then Jurel might lead the Rest of India. He recently captained India A in Sri Lanka.
The national selectors might face a difficult time in picking a seam-bowling all-rounder for the West Indies ODIs, starting September 27, unless Hardik Pandya is declared fit. Hardik is expected to be fit for competitive white-ball cricket by September 20. He has already been selected for India A’s one-day series against Australia A, slated to begin on October 6 in Puducherry.
"The selectors picked Hardik for the India A one-dayers scheduled from October 6 in Puducherry. However, the West Indies ODIs will end on October 3. It will be interesting to see if Hardik is selected for the West Indies ODIs," sources at the BCCI Centre of Excellence quoted as saying by PTI.
With Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar and Prince Yadav all fit and available, India’s pace attack for the West Indies ODIs seems settled.
In Iyer’s absence, Ruturaj Gaikwad is likely to feature in the ODI squad as middle-order batter.
The selection committee is also facing a significant headache due to a string of injuries to fringe all-rounders ahead of a packed domestic and international calendar.
The extensive injury list consists of Harsh Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Mohsin Khan, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana and Shahbaz Ahmed, all of whom have been ruled out of contention for the senior national team, the upcoming India A assignments, and the Irani Cup.
Meanwhile, Sarfaraz Khan is likely to be named in the Rest of India squad for the upcoming Irani Cup match. The Mumbai batter was recently omitted from the India A squad for the red-ball games against Australia A. Delhi youngsters Sanat Sangwan and Ayush Doseja, who were among the leading run-scorers in the Ranji Trophy, are expected to be part of the RoI side along with Ravichandran Smaran.
(With PTI Inputs)
