Suryansh Shedge, the Mumbai all-rounder who made his India T20I debut on the UK tour, is in contention for the Men in Blue squad for the ODI series in New Zealand. India is set to play five ODIs, along with five T20Is and two Tests on their tour of New Zealand.
Shedge has played three T20Is, scoring 8 runs, having made his debut against Ireland, and then playing against England and Zimbabwe. He recently had a good string of performances against Australia A in the 50-over games.
He scored 69 runs in three one-day games, including the best score of 66, and took 5 wickets, including the best bowling figures of 4/40.
These performances have impressed the BCCI selectors, who are looking to include Shedge in the India ODI setup, as they feel Nitish Kumar Reddy is more valuable for the Indian Test side and might not play all five ODIs.
"Shedge has a very high chance of making it to the ODI squad simply because Nitish Kumar Reddy will have an important role to play in the Test series as the fourth seamer and a floater in the lower order. Hence, Reddy won't play all the ODIs as he has to prepare for the red-ball games," a BCCI source told PTI.
The five-match series will follow as many T20Is during the marathon tour starting October 22. The ODI rubber will begin November 4 in Auckland.
Shedge has excelled in the T20 format, but his remarkable improvement in bowling performances has probably impressed the BCCI selection committee currently led in the interim by Pragyan Ojha.
The Indian team management is searching for strong substitutes because of Hardik Pandya's extended absence from competitive cricket due to a string of injuries. Reddy, the next-best alternative, is still the only one available for the Test matches despite having a history of injuries during his brief career.
The first Test in Wellington will start on November 19, and the fifth ODI in Tauranga will take place on November 15. The Indian players will only have two practice sessions on November 17 and 18 before the red-ball assignment because November 16 is the team's travel day.
In order to give the Test players some breathing room, the selection committee, which has postponed the announcement of the ODI team, would be forced to choose an increased contingent for the 50-over matches. Given how uncommon these all-rounders are in Indian cricket, Shedge's skill set makes him a desirable choice in this situation.
The scheduling of India’s tour of New Zealand has caused a lot of criticism. Due to New Zealand Cricket’s request to add two extra ODIs, the Indian team has been left with just a two-day window to prepare for a crucial World Test Championship.
(PTI inputs)
