The Ajit Agarkar-led national selection committee will meet BCCI secretary Jay Shah in Ahmedabad on Tuesday to finalize the 15-member squad for the ICC T20 World Cup in the Americas, but the official announcement may happen a day later. The BCCI secretary is the convener of the senior selection committee (men) and with Shah busy with his political commitments, it is understood that the meeting will be held in Ahmedabad.
The position of the second wicketkeeper and the position of all-rounder Hardik Pandya in the team will be the two points of discussion in the selection meeting.
It is understood that KL Rahul (IPL strike rate of 144 and 378 runs so far) and Sanju Samson (385 runs at a strike rate of 161) are still locked in a battle for the second wicketkeeper’s spot.
Rajasthan Royals captain Samson, for the first time in over a decade, has performed consistently in his IPL team but there is no way his third batting position will guarantee him a place in the Indian team.
Another school of thought is that someone like Samson, who has 25 T20Is under his belt but an average of just 20 and a strike rate of around 135, should not be considered based on just one good IPL season.
In Rahul’s case, it can be said that a senior member of the coaching team will certainly do whatever it takes to push for his inclusion, but many believe that the stylish right-handed batsman’s approach to T20 cricket remains archaic.
However, he is still considered a better bet than Samson for 5th or 6th on the slow tracks in the Caribbean.
The other option, Jitesh Sharma, is in very poor form, while Dhruv Jurel has no opportunity to keep wickets. During the last game in Lucknow, he got the opportunity to bat for long and scored a fifty.
Left-handed batsman Tilak Varma, who is also a skilled off-spinner, remains an option along with pacer Sandeep Sharma, the Punjab veteran whose slower variations at the death have played a big role in Rajasthan Royals’ rise to the top of the IPL table. .
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