INDIA’S SQUAD FOR THE ICC WORLD T20 2016

The squad for the Asia Cup and the most awaited ICC Event of the year, the T20 World Cup has been announced. With MS Dhoni’s captaincy under scrutiny in the last year or so, can MSD redeem himself about a decade later in the format where he first announced himself on the big stage. After having done it all, does he have it in him to write another chapter of glory !!?? Here are the men who have been picked & my views on the selections.

The Squad:-

Wicket Keeper - MS Dhoni

Batsmen - Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina & Yuvraj Singh

Bowlers - Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi & Mohammed Shami

All Rounders - Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja,

After having whitewashed Australia in their own den, the emotional Indian fan can proudly say the team has a settled look, thus leaving a spot or two open for contention. The major points of discussion would be the picking of rookie left arm spinner Pawan Negi and the seamer Mohammad Shami, who hasn’t played too much competitive cricket in the last few months. Pawan Negi has been picked up as bowling all rounder ahead of Axar Patel, the former having a better hitting ability lower down the order. Ideally, I would have liked a leg spinner in his place, probably Amit Mishra to make the cut which could have given India a complete variety in spin department, but the selectors thought otherwise.

The pace bowling options of Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar & Ishant Sharma have all been erratic and inconsistent in the recent times and Mohammad Shami coming off an injury would rather be a better bet than any of these. The experienced Harbhajan Singh after a reasonably good IPL last year and above average performances in his opportunites on the international circuit over the last year is a direct cover for Ravichandran Ashwin. The inclusion of Ajinkya Rahane ahead of Manish Pandey is justified with his consistency of performances across different conditions & formats. The presence of multi dimensional players like Yuvraj, Raina & Hardik Pandya add to the ideal balance of the squad playing in the sub continent.

Likely Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra

The Bench – Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi, Mohammad Shami & Ajinkya Rahane

With the mega event being played in India at many different venues ; it is a clear indication that the bench strength preferred is in the bowling department considering all the batsmen would be an automatic selection irrespective of the playing surface. In case of any injuries for the top order batsmen getting a replacement would be fast track. Having a good variety of spin & seam bowling options would help India pick different team combinations for different venues & playing conditions.