Gautam Gambhir, KL Rahul, Karun Nair or Shikhar Dhawan, Who Will Get Selectors Nod?

Jan 9, 2019 at 4:12 PM

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Gautam Gambhir, KL Rahul, Karun Nair or Shikhar Dhawan, Who Will Get Selectors Nod?

There is a big difference between choice and problem of choice. Choice just means selecting best out of the available options whereas the problem of choice means selecting best out of the handpicked once. It is good to have both choice and problem of choice but sometimes the problem of choice becomes a headache when the handpicked material is in abundance. In that case, we rate them by eliminating the material with more deficiency or weakness first. A prospect with more defects is eliminated first and finally, the prospect with least deficiency is chosen in case of ‘Problem of Choice’.

Same is the case with the Indian team as they are facing the same problem. One spot, three aspirants, is the case with the Indian squad which will be announced on Wednesday for the five Test matches against England. The opening slot will be in focus when selectors will sit down to select the team. Well, this opening slot has been a problem for England team right from the day of retirement of Andrew Strauss but the issue related to the problem is opposite to that faced by Indian selectors as it looks like openers in England have run dry.

Before the selection meeting starts Wednesday, let’s have a look at the case and possibility of each opener to be selected –

kl-rahul_m_pti

KL Rahul – By every means, this guy from Karnataka should be the first choice for that spot as he has proved his worth at every time in every format. No matter whatever format he is playing, he has just shown why he deserves to be there in the squad. Despite a century in Australia and Sri Lanka, he was deprived of a chance when South Africa toured India. Despite a poor show from Shikhar Dhawan in both the series, he had to wait for Dhawan to go out of the form to get much-deserved chance in West Indies which he pounced upon by scoring a century and a half-century. Soon after his return from West Indies, he was given preference over Shikhar Dhawan in the Test series against New Zealand but after fate had a twist for him as he got injured during the first Test match making way for Shikhar Dhawan for the second Test. Dhawan again failed to cash upon the chance, thus, handing the baton to Gautam Gambhir, who somehow managed to make most out of it by scoring a timely half-century in the second innings.

Being fair to KL Rahul, he should be the preference for the selection in the squad and yes he will but everything depends on upon his fitness. If he is fit, then no one can stop from getting a place in the team but it would be really hard for him if he fails to get fit-in-time. Wait, there is one more thing that can go against him. He hasn’t played any match for past one month, he also missed Ranji game against Assam as he was not fit for the game. There may be a case when selectors might ask him to show his fitness first. If that happens, he might not be selected.

Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir – Whether KL Rahul is fit or not, his place in the squad seems to be safe as he is the most senior person in India. Had he failed in the final Test at Indore, then he might have himself not thought of selection but with a half century there, he sent a message to selectors that he still has that spark to play the game at international level. He poked the selectors with a brilliant 147 against Odisha in the Ranji game. As of now, his place in the squad is confirmed but yes there are still doubts whether he will be part of playing XI or not. If KL Rahul is fit, then he might not be part of playing XI but he will walk in safely in the squad if KL Rahul is not part of 15 members squad.

 

Karun Nair
Karun Nair

Karun Nair – He is also one of the players who now deserves a go in the Indian team, he has been on the fringe of selection in playing XI squad from past one year but has always missed out. His selection in the 15-members squad solely depends on upon the fitness of KL Rahul. According to the equation, if KL Rahul is fit and is selected , then he has to wait for his chances whereas he will part of the squad if the other event happens. If selected in 15-memebrs squad, his inclusion in top XI will depend on upon the form of Gautam Gambhir and Murali Vijay.

dhawan-fifty-test-match

Shikhar Dhawan – As of now, he is not in contention of being selected in 15 members squad. There have been no reports regarding his fitness and all, he hasn’t played any Ranji game for Delhi till now. He is not on selectors radar for selection and it looks like his wait will go long as he has now used his chances to full with no outcome and profit.

Probable 15-member squad – Murali Vijay, KL Rahul/Karun Nair, Gautam Gambhir, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, R. Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma/Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Amit Mishra.

(Names preceding ‘/’ will be selected if the former one is unfit)

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