MUMBAI: Ever since India’s tour to Sri Lanka was confirmed a few days ago, speculation has been rife about players who could possibly make the cut and be a part of the Indian squad.
Over the last few years, the IPL has proved to be a tournament that has propelled the careers of young players in the white-ball format and highlighted their performances in the public eye, and eventually led to their selection in the Indian team.
Though their performances have been spectacular on the domestic cricket circuit as well and kept them on the selector’s radar, it is the IPL that has provided the watershed moment of their careers.
Some names that spring to mind that could be donning India colors for the first time, especially in the T20 format include Devdutt Padikkal, Harshal Patel, Rahul Tewatia, and Varun Chakravarty.
Ishan Kishan who made his debut in T20I’s for India versus England last year could well be making his debut in the One Day format as well in this series. The same applies to Rahul Chahar who has featured in T20I squads for India since making his debut in 2019 versus West Indies. Another player who would look to cement his place in the T20’s and possibly stake a claim for the ODI cap would be Suryakumar Yadav.
While the forthcoming Sri Lanka series could see the men in blue rely on the experience of Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, and Hardik Pandya, it will also provide an opportunity to the likes of Krunal Pandya, whose left-hand spin and middle-order contribution with the bat will come in handy on Sri Lankan surfaces. Spin may be the name of the game in all matches of the series given that it will take place in July in hot and humid conditions.
The selection of this squad may well indicate the road ahead for Dinesh Kartik who hasn’t played an ODI for India since the World Cup 2019 semi-final versus New Zealand.
Another big question is whether the selectors will give another chance to Manish Pandey, who wasn’t able to hold onto his place in the eleven even with his IPL franchise in the current season.
Another couple of players who have the experience of featuring in the Indian squad for the 2019 World Cup but have gone off the boil, include Kuldeep Yadav and Vijay Shankar.
Had Shreyas Iyer been fit, he would have been a frontrunner for captaining this team, but as per reports his recovery from the shoulder injury suffered during the England series earlier this year may well take some more time.
Possible players in the mix for selection: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, DevDutt Paddikal, Surya Kumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Ishan Kishan (wk), Dinesh Kartik (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Harshal Patel, Bhuwaneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakaria, Jaydev Unadkat, Rahul Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Varun Chakravarty, Kuldeep Yadav
The writer is a cricket commentator & sports broadcaster who has worked on assignments for leading sports networks in India & abroad.