The same old problems may be catching up with team India upon their return home. As the Indian selectors once again get down to the business of picking India’s squad for the home edition of the India England ODI series, India may not be at full strength even then.
Although the Indian cricket fans decided to tune off from India’s tour of England with injury problems and India’s dismal performance, it would appear that fans may be less kind on the Indian team at home if they are unable to live up their ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 winning performance.
In that the selectors have a tremendous job to do because this selection will not merely be about naming replacement players but rather those that the Indian cricket team should repose faith in as part of the exercise of building the team for the future.
The Indian selection panel headed by Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who was given an extended tenure in the post at the recent BCCI AGM, will sit down to pick India’s squad tomorrow and one can expect that there will be a few headaches when it comes to replacing the senior players who will miss out on the home series.
While Gautam Gambhir is showing signs that he has recovered from the concussion he suffered in England by leading the Kolkata Knight Riders team in the Champions League Twenty20 2011, there is no word on the progress made by Virender Sehwag since that troubled shoulder caused him to join the Indian team in England only after the second Test only to return after the fourth Test. Yuvraj Singh’s finger injury still remains a mystery and it seems unlikely that he may be fit just yet to play which means replacements will be in order.
Sachin Tendulkar is already on the sidelines with a toe injury that has forced him out of the Mumbai Indians captaincy of the Champions League Twenty20 2011 after he had already withdrawn from the ODI series in England. The absence of both, Sehwag and Tendulkar, will mean that India will have to look for someone to partner Gambhir in the opening slot and it will be interesting how the selectors decide this time between Murali Vijay, Parthiv Patel who opened in England or someone else they deem worthy of a home trial such as Ajinkya Rahane who impressed on the England tour.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni complained of fatigue midway through the India England Test series and was even speculated as having sore fingers due to wicket keeping duties. However, with him playing in the Champions League Twenty20 2011, it is only unlikely that the Indian captain can expected to be rested, particularly with the series being staged at home.
One of the key players whose selection will be monitored would be Harbhajan Singh. While Bhajji suffered an abdominal strain in the course of the Test series, the fact that he missed out on the India England ODI series in England was attributed to the Indian selectors dropping the off spinner for want of form. Although Harbhajan Singh staged a rather quick recovery and is leading the Mumbai Indians team in the absence of Tendulkar, one wonders if the selectors will indeed decide to look elsewhere.
The fast bowling department remains a mystery with Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma on the injured list while Praveen Kumar seems to be the obvious choice. No word on Munaf Patel’s injury either so, a few young fast bowlers may fancy their chances of being selected.Ashish Nehra continues to remain a question mark and it will be interesting if the Indian selectors consider him this time round.
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