Rahul in, Samson out of WC provisional squad

“We would not have cleared him for such a big event if he actually wasn’t fit. We didn’t rush his rehabilitation,” said a rather curt official from the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. 

The "him" in question was KL Rahul, and the big event he was referring to was the upcoming World Cup. And just like that, the Karnataka batter was included in the provisional squad for the 50-over event to be held in India from October 5. 

Rahul, who has been recovering from a thigh injury since May, received his clearance certificate on Sunday, but he will go through another round of fitness drills in Bengaluru before flying out to Sri Lanka later in the day. 

He, having missed the first two games of the Asia Cup, will join the side for the remainder of the tournament, and is likely to feature in the three-game ODI series against the visiting Australian side before setting shop for the World Cup. That said, there was no clarity on if Rahul will don the gloves or not. 

The chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar reached Pallekele on Saturday to catch the India-Pakistan game and is said to have interacted with skipper Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid at length after the game was abandoned due to rain. 

Kishan, who was a tad hesitant to come down the order in the past, showcased his abilities at the No.5 spot by scoring a useful 81-ball 82 in India’s tournament opener against Pakistan on Saturday. 

Rahul’s return and Kishan’s ascension means Sanju Samson is likely to miss out on the World Cup, though he is currently with the India side as a travelling reserve in Sri Lanka. 

In the same vein, Karnataka’s Prasidh Krishna too did not feature in the squad despite there being quite the push for his return to the side ahead of the Asia Cup. This means the pace party will comprise of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami while Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur will offer their medium pacer services to go with their middle/ lower-order batting abilities. 

As for spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja will lead the way, while Axar Patel will be the third option, meaning Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin will sit the upcoming tournament out.

“Ashwin should have been included,” said a former national selector. “He’s the best off-spinner in the world and he has shown that he can adapt across formats. Kuldeep is a good bowler, but he has never been a bowler batters fear. Ashwin is, so that would have helped.

“That said this looks like a good team, but we’ll have to see if they can remain injury free or not,” he added. 

Provisional squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.

M Prasidh Krishna (right). PTI