Plenty to ponder for the selectors

Bengaluru: The wise men of Indian cricket will have some serious deliberations to do when they sit down on Tuesday to pick the squad for next month’s Asia Cup that will give an indication of the side the management is grooming for the all-important T20 World Cup early next year.

While most members pick themselves for the continental bash in the United Arab Emirates following a revamp after a triumphant T20 World Cup in the Americas last June, the major point of discussion would be -- Should Test stars Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, absolutely brilliant T20 players also, be slotted in that would somewhat break a settled line-up?

Once they are done with that, Ajit Agarkar and Co will have long deliberations as they try to figure out who will don the finisher’s role and whether to pick an extra spinning all-rounder or a third specialist seamer in the squad that’s been capped at 15 members.

Firstly, the spinners, who will likely play the key role considering the pitch conditions in the UAE that are normally on the slower side. Vice-captain Axar Patel, whose batting has also come a long way over the last couple of years, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav appear favourites not just to make the cut to the squad but also to the playing XI. All three of them are different in nature and bring a unique skill-set to the table.

The point of discussion here would be whether to pick an extra spinning all-rounder in Washington Sundar or pick a third seamer as back-up for the injury-prone Jasprit Bumrah. Not only is Sundar a fine T20 bowler with the ability to roll his arm over in the Power Play, he’s a potent batter just like senior pro Axar. And like Axar, he can be used as a floater anywhere in the batting order and given head coach Gautam Gambhir’s fondness for him, there’s a good chance he could make the cut.

Much of the middle order looks settled with Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya being the automatic choices. So the role of the finisher, who will be the first-choice wicketkeeper, will come for intense discussion after Rinku Singh’s disastrous outing (39 runs, 3 innings) in the series against England earlier this year.

In all likelihood it appears as if the selectors may opt for Jitesh Sharma in that role, ahead of Dhruv Jurel. Jitesh had a fantastic season with the triumphant Royal Challengers Bengaluru, playing some game-changing knocks that drew a lot of praise. 

The said, Gambhir generally prefers to offer a long rope to the players he believes in, so Rinku may still get a look-in, possibly ahead of Shivam Dube.

There’s also a buzz that Shreyas Iyer may come back to the T20 fold. Iyer, was in sparkling form for Punjab Kings in this year's IPL, is a brilliant batter against spinners and possesses big-match temperament too. His experience could be vital for a largely young side.

On the fast bowling lane, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh should secure their spots but there will be a tough battle between Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana for the third pacers’ slot. Prasidh won the Purple Cap this season with 25 scalps but what could go against him is the short turnaround time between the Asia Cup -- scheduled to end on September 28 – and the two-match home Test series against West Indies that starts on October 2. Prasidh may share the new ball with Mohammed Siraj, so in order to keep him fresh, the selectors may go with Rana.

Plenty to ponder for Agarkar and Co.

Likely 15: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh/ Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel (vc), Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar/ Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma (wk)/ Dhruv Jurel (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana/ Prasidh Krishna.