Rest for seniors, chance for others

Mumbai, May 23

Despite being in a fine form in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season, Suresh Raina has been denied a spot in the squads named for the limited-overs tour to Zimbabwe in June and the four-match Test tour to the West Indies in July-August.

While Raina has been ignored, Mumbai batsman Rohit Sharma’s inclusion in the Virat Kohli-led Test squad has raised a few eyebrows. With a dismal average of 33.18 in 16 Tests, the 29-year-old Sharma has found the going tough in the longest format. 

The limited-overs team has been packed with fresh faces. Vidarbha opener Faiz Faisal, Karnataka batsman Karun Nair, Punjab batsman Mandeep Singh and the Haryana spin duo of Jayant Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have been picked for the Zimbabwe tour. For the West Indies tour, Mumbai seamer Shardul Thakur has made the cut on the basis of his impressive performance in the Ranji Trophy.

“The Zimbabwe tour is being looked at as a testing ground for the youngsters. The young team should give their best, it’s a great opportunity for them,” said selection committee chairman Sandeep Patil. “We wanted variation in our bowling, so Axar (Patel), Chahal and Yadav have found a place in the side.”

Dhoni retained as skipper 

The selection committee retained Mahendra Singh Dhoni as skipper for the Zimbabwe tour starting from June 11, while star batsman Virat Kohli will lead the side for the four-match Test series against West Indies. Many senior members, including Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan and Ravichandran Ashwin, have been rested for the Zimbabwe tour, comprising three One-day Internationals and as many T20 Internationals.

Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey, who hit a century in his last ODI outing against Australia this year, will aim to cement his place in the middle order, which comprises Ambati Rayudu, Dhoni and Lokesh Rahul. The bowling unit will be led by the promising pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Barinder Sran.  Dhawal Kulkarni, Rishi Dhawan and Jaidev Unadkat are the other pacers in the side. 

Rahane is Kohli’s deputy

On the other hand, the Kohli-led Test squad will have Mumbai batter Ajinkya Rahane as his deputy. The Test squad is more or less the same with Murali Vijay and Dhawan being the regular openers and Kohli, Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara making up the middle order. Rahul, who found himself in both the teams, is the reserve opening and wicket-keeping option for the Test squad with Bengal’s Wriddhiman Saha being the first-choice stumper.

The bowling unit will be led by the seasoned Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Shardul and Stuart Binny are the other members of the pace department. The spin department comprises Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Veterans Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh were ignored for both the tours. When asked if the duo was heading towards retirement, the selection committee chief said the panel was looking at the future of the country’s cricket. “Selectors have no right to tell anyone to retire. We are looking at the future of Indian cricket. We will be happy if they perform, we will get them back then,” Patil said. —IANS