JOIN USGutsy Vinay gets T20 cut
“I was expecting this call. It’s a huge opportunity for me. All I want to do is to continue the good work that I have been doing. It’s important that I don’t get overawed by the situation and just concentrate on the job at hand,” the 26-year-old from Davanagere said.
The selectorial radar zoomed in on Vinay after he took 53 wickets in the just-concluded domestic season, forming a lethal pair with fellow paceman Abhimanyu Mithun, who made entry into the Indian team for the recent home series against South Africa.
However, there was no such joy for his State-mate Manish Pandey who was expected to make it to the team after a scorching domestic season and a fine stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the ongoing Indian Premier League III.
After a few good outings for the RCB, Robin Uthappa, too, might have harboured hopes of returning to the MS Dhoni-led Indian squad, even though he was not part of the 30-man probables list. But the selectors were not swayed by his recent form.
The biggest surprise, perhaps, was the inclusion of Rohit Sharma, who has done little of note in recent times.
The team management might have banked on his experience at the top level and that the Mumbaikar is a handy part-time bowler too might have worked in his favour.
Surprising return
Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, too, made a rather surprising return pipping Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha for the second spinner’s slot after Harbhajan Singh. The other surprise omission came in the shape of Virat Kohli. The Delhiite has been the most mature cricketer around as testified by Royal Challengers Bangalore coach Ray Jennings recently, but he could not outdo Rohit in the end calculations.
Pacer Ishant Sharma too missed the bus to West Indies, but that was much on the expected lines after the Delhi lad failed to impress the bigwigs in his recent outings. The lanky pacer has struggled to take wickets and contain the flow of runs in both one-dayers and T20s and his fielding too has been found wanting.
Expected lines
Apart from those two pickings and Kohli’s non-inclusion, the selection went on expected lines with the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina easing into the side.