OPINION
Follow UsIt has only been a topic so conversation far, but the pandemic has ensured that an Indian team playing international cricket in two different corners of the world at the same time is now an all too real possibility.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly confirmed India’s tour of Sri Lanka comprising three ODIs and five T20Is in July this year. The 24-man side that will be in England for the World Test Championship final and the subsequent fixtures against England will not be playing any games in July. However, given the quarantine rules around the world, it will be difficult for any of those players to travel to Sri Lanka. Hence, for the first since 1998 when India sent two different squads for Commonwealth Games and the Shara Cup, the BCCI will send a separate team for the tour of Sri Lanka.
Last year, we analyzed the ideal 12-member squad for India for the two formats if they were to play a red-ball and a white-ball game at the same time. The difference now is that the Test side is at a full strength due to obvious reasons.
Given India’s ever-widening bench strength, it will not be difficult for the selectors to pick another 24 men for the assignment in Sri Lanka. Let us look at the options-
1. Openers
Shikhar Dhawan is the first-choice opener in ODIs even for the full-strength squad. In the last two seasons of the IPL, he has scored 998 runs, second only to KL Rahul. Hence, he has thrown himself in the mix for T20Is as well. For the squad to Sri Lanka, the only question around Dhawan would be whether he should lead the side or not.
Partnering him at the top will be his Delhi teammate Prithvi Shaw, who was also the most impactful batsman in the curtailed season as per our rankings. Devdutt Padikkal is making a name for himself with each outing. Since 2019, no other player has scored more runs than him in the Vijay Hazare Trophy or the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
2. Middle-Order
Nursing a shoulder injury, Shreyas Iyer has been out of action for more than six weeks. Considering there are still more than six weeks to go before the team leaves for Sri Lanka, there is a fair chance for him to take his place in India’s middle-order. He is also among the leading contenders to captain the side in that case.
Suryakumar Yadav has proved his mettle in the T20Is and it is a matter of time before he makes his ODI debut as well. While not being able to bowl has put Hardik Pandya out of contention for Tests, his ability with the bat is enough to warrant his presence in the limited-overs format. Manish Pandey did not have a good IPL – nor did most players in the Sunrisers Camp – but, he can still add value in the ODI format.
3. Wicket-Keepers
Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan are ready-made choices in this department. Both are top-order batters as well resulting in a lot of batting options for the management to choose from.
4. All-Rounders
This is one department that the selectors will have to ponder long and hard over. India’s three-best all-rounders right now will be on the flight to England. This makes Krunal Pandya the central figure in this category. Vijay Shankar and Shivam Dube have played for India before but their inclusion will be more on the lines of lack of options as opposed to merit. Rahul Tewatia had a dream IPL season in 2020 but failed to impress this year. But, India will have to do with what they have for now.
5. Spinners
India’s first-choice limited-overs spinners – Yuzvendra Chahal and Rahul Chahar – are not in the Test scheme of things for now. If he can get his fitness in order, bigger things are waiting for Varun Chakravarthy as well.
6. Pacers
Most fans were surprised at Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s exclusion for the tour to England, given his ability to swing the red cherry. But, fitness issues have given his career a different direction. He will now be the pace spearhead in Sri Lanka in all likelihood. Assisting him would be Deepak Chahar and Navdeep Saini. India would want T Natarajan to recover after a knee surgery by then to add some variety into the attack. If not, either Chetan Sakariya or Jaydev Unadkat can earn a call-up.
7. Standby
Apart from Sakariya and Unadkat, the other players on the fringes are Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Porel. Gaikwad has been doing well for Chennai in the IPL while Porel’s selection can be along the lines of Arzan Nagwaswalla who is rewarded for his success in domestic competitions and is chosen as a standby for the Test squad. In the recent edition of the SMAT, Porel took 13 wickets in just five games while playing for Bengal.
While these are the likely candidates, there can be other players who can feature based on the requirement closer to the tour. For the middle-order, the options are Deepak Hooda and Abdul Samad. Among spinners, Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav are around while Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Kartik Tyagi are the other pace bowling options.
Quite clearly, as it is evolving into a cliché now, the depth in Indian cricket is scary.
