The remaining six slots are up for grabs and will be filled on the basis of performance and fitness, BCCI sources told TOI on Wednesday.
BCCI insiders say this should give hope to seniors like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and even Zaheer Khan who have fallen out of favour.
Based on current form, skipper MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, B Kumar and Ishant Sharma are likely to be the mainstay of Team India unless injury forces any player out.
"The selectors have an open mind on some senior players, but these players will have to prove their form and fitness. The selectors have decided to give some of the youngsters a longer rope till the World Cup," a top BCCI official said.
The Indian team's think-tank is of the opinion that Australia, venue of the next World Cup, won't be an easy campaign for the defending champions who seem to be suddenly struggling in the West Indies now.
"We have to score at least 300 runs in every match. You can't expect the bowlers to do the job all the time. And with two new balls from both ends, it's going to be a real challenge.
The current team has very talented youngsters, but we also need experience," said another insider. The thrashing by Sri Lanka in the ongoing tri-series on Tuesday night has led to talk about the need to get in some more experience in the team.
Though Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have fitted into the scheme of things on top of the order, there is need for an extra opening batsman. Will it be Gambhir or Sehwag?
Gambhir was in the stand-by list for the West Indies tri-series, but missed out as the selectors decided not to tinker with the Champions Trophy-winning squad. The team management still thinks highly of Sehwag which can be some solace for the explosive opener from Delhi. Ditto for Yuvraj.
Another senior Zaheer Khan, who is battling injuries, can also fancy his comeback chances. "You need experience in the bowling department, something which Zaheer has in abundance.
He was left out of the Indian team because he was struggling with his fitness and was far from his best. If he is match-fit and bowling well, there is no reason to leave him out," a source close to the selectors said.
Zaheer, who was axed from the Test team during the series against England at home last year in December, is not in the ODI scheme of things either.
0 comments:
Post a Comment