It was way back in August 2010 when Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik wore the blue Indian jersey the last time.
He scored a naught then and was subsequently dropped from the team. But he knew that age was on his side and a comeback was possible. And talent was never an issue with him. All he needed to do was score runs.
A good 2012-13 domestic season and a couple of brilliant knocks in the ongoing IPl meant that the selectors were impressed. When they sat together on Saturday in Mumbai to pick India’s one-day squad for Champions Trophy 2013 to be held in England from June 6, the Sandeep Patil-chaired selection panel couldn’t ignore Karthik.
Out of form Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh were dropped in favour of two in-form openers in Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay — both of them were instrumental India’s historic 4-0 series win over Australia earlier this year.
However, the selection of Rohit Sharma was a bit surprising considering his poor showing in the last ODI series he played for India as he has just one half-century in five games. Furthermore, he has just 176 runs in the last ten ODIs which includes two ducks. He is in good form in the IPl but if that is a parameter for selection then it’s a worrisome scenario for future of Indian cricket.
Rest of the batting line-up that comprises of Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni select themselves on the basis of good performances in the past.
Good news for India is that Umesh Yadav, who got injured during England’s tour of India last year, has made a return. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and R Vinay Kumar (another IPl performer), Yadav makes a good pace-unit in English conditions.
Selection of all-rounder Irfan Pathan is an important one. As the English conditions support seam bowling, it is vital to have a seamer with batting abilities. With Ravinder Jadeja as spin-allrounder, Dhoni can use both of them according to the needs of the team. There are two specialist spinners in the team — off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and leg-spinner Amit Mishra, whose last appearance for India was on the disastrous tour of England in 2011.
The overall look of the team gives a feeling of youth over-brewing. It seems the selectors had 2015 World Cup in mind and wanted to create a core group of young players who can help India defend the title.
But, with all the talent and flair, team lacks a batsman with solid technique on whom the batting could depend in English conditions. May be Ajinkya Rahane should have been there.