Bangalore, Feb 10: Suresh Raina’s prolonged bad patch will be one of topics of discussion along with Cheteshwar Pujara’s comeback in the 50-over format as the selection committee meets here tomorrow to select the squads for the Asia Cup and World T20 in Bangladesh.
Raina’s form has gone downhill for quite some time as he has scored only one half-century (against Zimbabwe) in the last 24 ODIs and was dropped from the playing XI in the last two matches during the five-match ODI series in New Zealand.
Similarly, Pujara’s name might come up for discussion for the 50-over format as the top-order has not performed as per potential in the recently concluded series in New Zealand.
Pujara played a few ODIs in Zimbabwe without much success but has not got a longer run in the limited overs format where he has a more than decent average nearing 55.
It will also be interesting to see whether Ishant Sharma finds a place in the limited overs squad after being dropped midway through the ODI series. R Vinay Kumar’s good form in the recent matches could bring him back in contention knowing Dhoni’s fetish for medium pacers.
The squad for World T20 will also be interesting with the likes of Kedar Jadhav in the fray for a place in the squad.
While Gautam Gambhir failed to impress the selectors in the ongoing Irani Cup game, his chances of making a comeback in the 50-over format (he is not in 30 member probables list) looks slender.
Stuart Binny with an 82-ball-100 is likely to retain his place in the squad.
Among the spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are likely to make the cut in both formats although senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh’s name is there in the T20 probables list.
The likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami are automatic selections. (PTI)
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