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(IND vs WI 2019) 5 Talking Points about India’s ODI & T20I Squads Selection

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(IND vs WI 2019) 5 talking points Squad selection ODI & T20I Squad Selection

The selection committee met on Thursday, 21st November, in Kolkata, to announce the squads for the ODI and T20Is series against the West Indies. The three-match T20I series will begin on the 6th of December, in Mumbai. Indian Captain Virat Kohli was present in the meeting along with BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and Secretary Jay Shah. In this article, we will see the 5 main talking points about Team India’s ODI and T20I Squad Selection for the West Indies tour of India 2019.

MSK Prasad-led selection committee picked the squad for possibly the last time, as the tenure of this committee will end on the 1st of December, 2019.

Among the many talking points, Virat Kohli returns as the captain for the limited-overs leg, after he was rested during the Bangladesh T20Is.

There were speculations of Rohit Sharma getting rest, as the opener has been a part of non-stop cricketing action this year. But his name was announced for both the T20I and ODI squads putting all rumors about his rest to rest.

Let us look at the 5 main talking points or highlights about the ODI and T20I squads selection for the West Indies’ tour of India 2019.

1. Is it the end of the road for Dhawan?

One player that has been under immense pressure to perform and show the right ‘intent’ which is suitable for the format is Shikhar Dhawan! The committee, however, selected him for both the formats, initially.

But, an injury in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game against Maharashtra in Surat, ruled him out of the series, with Sanju Samson being named as his replacement.

Samson initially had missed out on the squad for the West Indies series, as Virat Kohli returned to action.

The Kerala wicketkeeper was present in the squad for the series against Bangladesh, as Kohli’s replacement, but didn’t get to play a single game.

Now with Dhawan’s injury, the keeper is now once again included in the squad.

KL Rahul who played for Kings XI Punjab in the past two seasons of the Indian Premier League, purely as an opener, strikes at 147 and will be the ideal replacement for Dhawan. He can provide the team with quick starts in the powerplay. KL Rahul fans will hope that he makes the most of this opportunity.

2. ODI, T20I: Almost the same teams

“One-day cricket and T20Is have vastly different identities and one cannot look at it through the mere lens of ‘white-ball cricket’. T20 is a wholly different ballgame and that is how we are going to pursue it. At best four or a maximum of five cricketers from the present 50-over set-up fit in a T20 perspective right now. We need to begin with that perspective and build on it.”

In an interview with The Times of India just after his re-appointment as India’s coach in August, these were Ravi Shastri’s words when asked about the preparation for the T20 World Cup.

But the squads contradict his opinion as 14 of the 15 players will be playing both the formats, with just the exception of Washington Sundar who will be a part of the T20I squad but is effectively replaced by Kedar Jadhav in ODIs.

So the question arises, did the management’s thinking change in 3 months’ time? Or is the head coach waiting for the new selection committee and their opinions before the overhaul? Only time will give us the answers to these questions.

Another puzzling selection is that of Kedar Jadhav. The already 34-year-old will be 38 by the next major ODI assignment, which is the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. So why aren’t the selectors trying to replace him with young players who are ruling the domestic circuit, players such as Baba Aparajith, Jalaj Saxena or Suryakumar Yadav?

But yes, have to agree that replacing street-smart cricketer, Kedar Jadhav is not an easy decision.

Jadhav has proved his usefulness in the ODI team both with the bat and the ball. So let us see how the new selection committee handles this case.

3. Experienced players back as the fringe ones miss the bus

India made as many as 5 changes to their T20I squad from the one selected for the Bangladesh series.

Captain Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Ravindra Jadeja will return to face West Indies, as Krunal Pandya, Khaleel Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, and Rahul Chahar miss out.

Shardul Thakur was benched in the last series against Bangladesh and with the return of the experienced Mohammed Shami, Thakur was bound to miss the bus.

Rahul Chahar who didn’t get a game in the Bangla series was also dropped from the squad.

The other major takeaway is that Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will together feature in T20Is for India after a very long time as ‘KulCha’ last played together in a T20I in England last year.

Kuldeep Yadav & Yuzvendra Chahal T20I Stats

KulCha together: 10 matches, 73 overs, 556 runs, wickets 41, eco 7.6, avg 13.56, 4 four-wicket haul (2 for each)
Kuldeep with Chahal: 10 matches, 22 wickets, avg 11.68, eco 7.23
Kuldeep (without Chahal): 8 matches, 13 wickets, avg 15.15, eco 6.15
Chahal (with Kuldeep): 10 matches, 19 wickets, avg 15.73, eco 7.97
Chahal (without Kuldeep): 21 matches, 27 wickets, avg 24.92, eco 8.01
(Stats Credit: @cricrohit/Twitter)

From the above stats, we can conclude that when the two spinners play together, though economy-wise, not much difference is observed, but both Chahal’s and Kuldeep’s bowling average numbers are better than when they play without the other one.

One reason for that could be that the batsman cannot just decide to playout one good bowler, as he knows the spinner from the other end will also be quality. So he is forced to take chances and thus eventually has a more chance of getting out.

Not too long ago, Virat Kohli stressed upon the fact of having bowling all-rounders and that may result in only one of Kuldeep Yadav or Yuzi Chahal playing in the XI.

The last talking point is that of Ravindra Jadeja replacing Krunal Pandya in the team.

The elder Pandya brother performed below-par, compared to Jadeja, who in recent times played a vital role as a lower-order batsman in all formats. Also, Jadeja is good at containing the runs in the middle overs and his fielding has always been world-class.

4. Dube ODI Debut, Chahar Back in ODIs

While the younger Chahar has been dropped from the T20I side, the elder one has got an ODI call-up. The selection committee rewarded Deepak Chahar for consistently delivering in the shortest format. His achievements such as best T20I figures of 6/7 and a T20I hattrick in the last T20I against Bangladesh impressed everyone.

While Shivam Dube, who scalped 3 batsmen in the same game, also made entry into the side, as Hardik Pandya is still recovering from injury. The Mumbai all-rounder will be eyeing to impress the team management and the selectors in Pandya’s absence and has a List A average of 43 striking at 121.

Shivam Dube received his maiden call-up for the ODI side, while Deepak Chahar featured in an ODI last year against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup. He had bowled 4 overs in that match, giving away 37 runs as the match ended in a tie.

5. No Dhoni

So after every squad announcement, the question arises and it remains this time as well. WHERE IS M. S. DHONI?

The veteran keeper-batsman last appeared in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 semi-final against New Zealand and has not been in action since then.

The funny thing is that the former captain hasn’t retired nor is dropped. And he isn’t rested either.

Ravi Shastri later hinted that he won’t be in action till the IPL and the performance in the tournament next year may well decide his future. “It all depends on when he starts playing and how he is playing during the IPL. What are the other people doing with the wicketkeeping gloves or what is the form of those players as opposed to Dhoni’s form.” Shastri was quoted by IANS.

Okay, so those were 5 main talking points about the Team India’s T20I & ODI squads selection for the West Indies Tour of India in December 2019. What other points do you want to throw light on? Mention them in the comments section below!

Team India’s updated squads below:

India Squad for T20Is:

Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Sanju Samson, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Deepak Chahar, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

India Squad for ODIs:

Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Mohammed Shami

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