The selection conundrum

India’s tour of West Indies will in all probability see a bunch of newcomers showcasing the skills next month. The selection committee will have their task cut out in picking the right combination especially for the ODI and T20 internationals. M.S. Dhoni has ruled himself out citing para military duties for the next two months. That gives the selectors to see Rishabh Pant in the shorter formats. Dhoni’s unavailability will leave a huge hole in the middle order that would be tough to fill.

Middle order muddle

Inspite of the criticism that Dhoni had faced during the World Cup for his slow batting he still was the glue that kept the middle order together. It would be interesting to see what sort of middle order options will the selection committee come up with. Kedar Jadhav and Dinesh Karthik might be on their way out after unimpressive showings in the world cup. A bunch of new comers who are middle order batsman might be considered. Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar are still not fully fit. Most of the batsman who are in the India ‘Á’ team for the tour of West Indies like Manish Pandey, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer apart from the likes of Mayank Agarwal and Ajinkya Rahane should be in the running for selection.

Bowling options

As far as the bowling unit is concerned fast bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and allrounder Hardik Pandya may be rested. Khaleel Ahmed and Deepak Chahar who were the back up bowlers for the World Cup are the other options that can be considered. Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzhvendra Chahal should be certainties though leg spinner Rahul Chahal might get a look in. Allrounders Krunal Pandya or Axar Patel might get to replace Hardik Pandya.

Virat and Rohit still the key

All in all it might be a challenging task for the selection committee on Sunday. Despite West Indies not performing well in the World Cup they cannot be taken lightly at home. With the Indian middle order getting thinner in the absence of Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will once again have to shoulder the burden as far as the batting is concerned.