BCCI announced a 17 man squad for the upcoming South African ODI series, making a few surprise selections(read: omissions) as well, but largely went in with the same crux of players that have been featuring for India in the past few ODI series.
KL Rahul and Umesh Yadav were notable omissions, and the duo will feel a little grieved, having missed out on the flight to South Africa, despite not having done much wrong in the limited overs circuit over the past 1 year.
Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin continue to be ignored in the limited overs format, and it looks like this could be the end of the road for India’s premier Test bowlers in limited overs cricket.
Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have been identified as the two frontline spinners in limited overs cricket, with Axar Patel slotting in as the back up spinner.
BCCI should keep Ashwin and Jadeja in the loop, as Yuzi Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav haven’t yet operated in foreign conditions, and if they fail to impress in South Africa, Jaddu and Ashwin could be in line for a comeback, but as of now, seeing them in ‘blues’ looks highly improbable.
Fans did not quite agree with Yuvraj’s and Suresh’s exclusion, despite both of them having cleared the ‘elusive’ ‘Yo-Yo Test’. But people need to understand that both Yuvraj and Suresh are short on match practice, and haven’t really put the domestic circuit on fire, and cannot be selected on reputation alone.
“With Yuvraj Singh, there were also the fitness issues. I am happy that he has cleared that fitness test. Since he has not played cricket for quite some time, let him have a good match time. We will definitely see him in the times to come,” said MSK Prasad, the Chief selector.
While with Yuvraj it was more to do with his fitness, for Raina, it has been his dismal form in the Ranji season, wherein he scored with a meagre average of 11.66.
With the domestic T20 tournament set to kick off in early 2018, the duo would be hoping that their performances can help them make it to the T20 squad for South Africa.
