This offers a ray of hope to players like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan, who are trying hard to make a comeback.
BCCI insiders say the selectors want to test the match fitness of these players before the squad for the Australia series is picked. Irfan Pathan is also among those waiting for a call.
"This is the ideal opportunity to see these seniors in action and measure their fitness levels," a top BCCI official told TOI on Thursday. Sehwag is slogging it out at the MRF Pace Foundation while the Yuvraj Singh-Zaheer Khan duo has spent time training in Europe.
Based on current form, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma are certainties against Australia. "A few slots will be available for those who perform well in the Challengers and A tours," a BCCI official said.
The feeling is that the current team has talent but lacks a bit of experience. "If you can pick an in-form Yuvraj or Sehwag, it will only add experience to the team. But you have to assess their match fitness first," an insider said.
With just a bit more than a year left for the 2015 World Cup in Australia, selectors have little time to scout for talent. "We need to work towards it (the World Cup) right now," a source said.
The selectors might also pick the India A squad for a series against West Indies A on Tuesday. The West Indies A team will play three one-day matches, one T20 game and three four-day matches.
"Don't be surprised if a few seniors are picked for this series as well," a source said. Left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan, in particular, may get to play in the four-day matches against West Indies A.
0 comments:
Post a Comment