Five Surprising Selections In India’s ODI And T20 Squad

Jan 6, 2017 at 7:48 PM

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Five Surprising Selections In India’s ODI And T20 Squad

Amid chaos and confusion, Board of Control for Cricket in India’s selection committee on Friday chaired the meeting which had all eyes on it after the sacking of its President Anurag Thakur and Secretary Ajay Shirke.

After the chain of events from the recent past between Supreme Court appointed Lodha Panel and Indian cricket’s governing body, the chairman of selectors MSK Prasad announced the squad for 3-match One-day International and Twenty20 International squad against England which starts on January 15 at Pune.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has retained his spot after stepping down as the ODI and T20I skipper. He will be playing under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, who has scored most centuries under Dhoni’s captaincy.

After the change of guard, few players were left out despite decent performances in the recent past which clearly has shown a paradigm shift after the apex court hearing.

Rohit Sharma missed out to make into the squad after a groin injury alongside Axar Patel, who is suffering from thumb injury.

Since New Zealand series Rohit hadn’t had a game. However, Mohammad Shami and Dhawal Kulkarni were sidelined after suffering from knee injuries.

Sportzwiki has come up with 5 players who were a surprise package in the limited-overs squad:

Kedar Jhadav – Looking To Cement His Place

The 31-year-old Kedar Jadhav has been a composite character over the ground. He has played 4 matches for Maharashtra this Ranji season in which he has scored 353 runs at an average of 58.83 which includes one hundred and three half-centuries.

In ODIs he debuted in 2014 against Sri Lanka where he could score just 20. He played his last ODI in October last year against New Zealand where he scored unbeaten 39 off 37 balls.

The middle-order batsman has played 12 ODIs so far in which he has scored 236 runs at an average of 47.20. He has one hundred to his name.

Earlier, in 2010, Jhadav has is remembered for his 29-ball 50 on his IPL debut for Delhi Daredevils against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

He would be eyeing to cement his place in the national side as the competition is equally tough for the newcomers as there is no dearth of talent.

Yuzvendra Chahal – Could Make A Case As Third Spinner

The 26-year-old Yuzvendra Chahal would be delighted to find a place in the T20 squad after replacing compatriot Amit Mishra in the T20 squad who picked 3 wickets in his last T20 game against West Indies last year in Florida after missing the thriller which saw 589 runs in both the innings spread over 40 overs.

Under the leadership of Dhoni, Chahal debuted against Zimbabwe in June at Harare. He played three ODIs and T20Is where he picked 6 and 3 wickets respectively.

As Haryana made it into the Ranji Trophy quarter-final this season, leggie Chahal had a great contribution for his team while bagging 33 wickets in seven games.

Chahal had a good outing in IPL and he would definitely like to excel while bowling.

Ashish Nehra T20 – Getting Better With Age Like A Wine

When he plays a game, he gives his best on the field. It’s none other than left-arm fast bowler Ashish Nehra who had been recalled to India’s T20 squad.

Last year, injury-marred Nehra made a decent comeback in the shortest format while befuddling the batters with his subtle variations. The quick’s best ability is to swing the ball with pace and that plays a crucial role in T20s and for that selectors might have picked him at the age of 37.

After being left out in West Indies T20Is, Nehra has returned to the squad.

Rishabh Pant T20 – Likes The Flow Of The Willow                   

Former India Under-19 wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant’s inclusion in the T20I squad has come up as surprising decision to get an early nod from the selectors for the maiden T20I call-up after the stellar of a Ranji Trophy performance this season.

In the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, Pant has amassed 972 runs at the strike rate of over 108. His tally of runs included four hundreds. The Delhi-lad had also smashed triple century (308 runs off 326 balls) which included 9 sixes and 42 fours against Maharashtra at Mumbai in October last year.

Earlier, from the base price of 10 lakh, Pant was picked for Rs 1.9 crore by Indian Premier League franchise Delhi Daredevils.

Young Pant had a great Ranji season in 2016-17 when he hit a 48-ball hundred against Jharkhand in the Ranji game which is fastest in first-class cricket in India after performing well in India’s Under-19 team.

Pant in the junior World Cup semi-final game smashed 111 off 96 balls against Namibia in Bangladesh.

He might be opening with KL Rahul for India if he gets a game straight away.

Yuvraj Singh – Already A Star

It has been termed as big surprise to see Yuvraj Singh breaking into the ODI squad after playing the last ODI against South Africa in December, 2013. Yuvraj scored 672 runs for Punjab in five Ranji Trophy matches this season after playing his last Twenty20 game in March 2016 against Australia.

Considered as the best opportunity for swashbuckling batsman, the 35-year-old Yuvraj has already left a mark in the limited overs cricket in the recent past with the bat and a ball.

The limited-overs specialist has been inducted into the side after Dhoni has decided to quit captaincy which could only be termed as a coincidence.

Yuvraj would love to swing the bat while following his trademark style of holding the willow.

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