The national selectors will meet here on Monday to pick the Indian team for the ODI series against Australia at home.
The national selectors will meet here on Monday to pick the Indian team for the ODI series against Australia at home. As the last ODI series against Zimbabwe in July-August was mainly used for experimentation, the team for the important Australia series is bound to be radically different. The committee is expected to to take up the issue of naming a deputy to M.S. Dhoni. R. Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are likely to make a comeback after being rested for the series in Zimbabwe. Here is a look at the possible combination and the choices that the selectors might look into before the naming the squad.
The following are certainties: M.S. Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dinesh Karthik.
*** In contention Abhishek Nayar: Last ODI: vs West Indies, Sep 30, 2009. Recent performances: For India ‘A’: 102*, 57. India Blue: 91, 75* & 12. Bowling: 0/39, 1/62, 0/13. Chances: With medium-pace all-rounder Irfan Pathan sidelined with injury, Nayar is a potential candidate to fill in his shoes. Will the experimentation continue Ajinkya Rahane: Last performance for India: 50 Result: In the chance he got, Rahane scored a 50 against Zimbabwe but that might not be enough for him to secure a place in the squad. Cheteshwar Pujara Last two performances: 13, 0. Result: The experiment to play him as an opener didn’t work out in Zimbabwe. . Toss-up for a place in pace attack Mohit Sharma: Bowled impressively and bagged the man of the match award on debut. He has been a consistent performer for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. Jaydev Unadkat: He scalped eight wickets in five matches against Zimbabwe. He has been getting wickets in the domestic circuit for India ‘A’. He has an outside chance of making it to the team. Vinay Kumar: He is a wily bowler in ODIs. The Karnataka pacer has proved that he can be useful during the powerplay overs.
