Shubman Gill is set to return to India's T20I squad following a successful Test captaincy debut in England where the team drew 2-2 in a hard fought series. According to a PTI report he is contending for the role of vice-captain with Axar Patel for the upcoming Asia Cup.
The Asia Cup is scheduled to be held in the UAE from September 9.
Further, the PTI reported stated that pace ace Jasprit Bumrah is set to participate in the T20 competition and might miss the first Test against West Indies in the first week of October.
The selection committee, led by Ajit Agarar, is likely to select the squad for the Asia Cup on August 19 or 20 depending on when the Centre of Excellence's (CoE) Sports Science team sends the medical bulletin of all players, including that of captain Suryakumar Yadav, who has already started batting at the nets in Bengaluru after undergoing a surgery.
The selection committee will be faced with some hard decisions even while they will want to maintain continuity which has given them a lot of success from the time Suryakumar took over as T20 captain.
While Axar was the designated vice-captain during India's last series against England at home, Gill was the deputy when Suryakumar was first appointed full-time skipper of the T20 squad in Sri Lanka last year.
PTI report suggests that the committee won't be too keen to tinker with the set-up as Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya form a solid top five.
"Abhishek Sharma is world's No. 1 T20 batter in last ICC rankings. Sanju Samson has been fantastic last season with both bat and gloves. So it will certainly be a tough call but Shubman in current form (although in Tests) can't be ignored. He had a good IPL also. Problem for selectors is, there are too many performers at the top of the order," a BCCI source privy to developments told PTI.
This will make it difficult for Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan to find a place in the team. Even KL Rahul, who is the wicketkeeper in ODIs is unlikely to be considered.
Who is the second keeper?
Samson is all but certain to be the wicketkeeper of the team. However, there is a competition between Jitesh Sharma and Dhruv Jurel. While Jurel was a part of the last T20 series, Jitesh had been impressive for RCB during their IPL winning campaign. He has also revelled in the role of a finisher.
Who is the second all-rounder?
While Pandya remains the first choice white ball seam bowling all-rounder, Nitish Kumar Reddy, who suffered injury during the England series, is unlikely to get fit in time. Shivam Dube, who made a good comeback against England, is likely to find his place in the squad.
Axar and Washington Sundar are set to be the other two spin-bowling all-rounders in the squad.
Who will be third seamer?
The backbone of India's bowling will be led by Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. The third slot is a fight between Prasidh Krishna, who has 25 wickets in last IPL, and Harshit Rana, who has ability to bowl some really heavy deliveries.
Likely contenders accprding to PTI: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Verma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana/Prasidh Krishna, Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma/Dhruv Jurel.
The Asia Cup is scheduled to be held in the UAE from September 9.
Further, the PTI reported stated that pace ace Jasprit Bumrah is set to participate in the T20 competition and might miss the first Test against West Indies in the first week of October.
The selection committee, led by Ajit Agarar, is likely to select the squad for the Asia Cup on August 19 or 20 depending on when the Centre of Excellence's (CoE) Sports Science team sends the medical bulletin of all players, including that of captain Suryakumar Yadav, who has already started batting at the nets in Bengaluru after undergoing a surgery.
The selection committee will be faced with some hard decisions even while they will want to maintain continuity which has given them a lot of success from the time Suryakumar took over as T20 captain.
While Axar was the designated vice-captain during India's last series against England at home, Gill was the deputy when Suryakumar was first appointed full-time skipper of the T20 squad in Sri Lanka last year.
PTI report suggests that the committee won't be too keen to tinker with the set-up as Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya form a solid top five.
"Abhishek Sharma is world's No. 1 T20 batter in last ICC rankings. Sanju Samson has been fantastic last season with both bat and gloves. So it will certainly be a tough call but Shubman in current form (although in Tests) can't be ignored. He had a good IPL also. Problem for selectors is, there are too many performers at the top of the order," a BCCI source privy to developments told PTI.
This will make it difficult for Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan to find a place in the team. Even KL Rahul, who is the wicketkeeper in ODIs is unlikely to be considered.
Who is the second keeper?
Samson is all but certain to be the wicketkeeper of the team. However, there is a competition between Jitesh Sharma and Dhruv Jurel. While Jurel was a part of the last T20 series, Jitesh had been impressive for RCB during their IPL winning campaign. He has also revelled in the role of a finisher.
Who is the second all-rounder?
While Pandya remains the first choice white ball seam bowling all-rounder, Nitish Kumar Reddy, who suffered injury during the England series, is unlikely to get fit in time. Shivam Dube, who made a good comeback against England, is likely to find his place in the squad.
Axar and Washington Sundar are set to be the other two spin-bowling all-rounders in the squad.
Who will be third seamer?
The backbone of India's bowling will be led by Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. The third slot is a fight between Prasidh Krishna, who has 25 wickets in last IPL, and Harshit Rana, who has ability to bowl some really heavy deliveries.
Likely contenders accprding to PTI: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Verma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana/Prasidh Krishna, Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma/Dhruv Jurel.
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