By: Drcricket7 Staff
The Indian selection committee, headed by Sandip Patil, would be looking to get a quick-fix in the bowling department when they pick the team for the Australian ODI and T20 series.
In the last ODI that India played, bowlers went on to concede 438 runs to South Africa. India had lost the match by a record margin of 214 run. It was more of a humiliation than anything else.
But thereafter, India did well to come back strongly into the thick of things against the Proteas by blanking them in the Test series. But now that the Test series is over and done with, the onus is on how to strengthen the bowling department.
For starters, the selectors would be looking to bring back Ravindra Jadeja into the ODI team. The left-arm was the biggest success story of the Test series against South Africa. His domestic form was the reason why the selectors reposed their faith on him.
With the World T20 scheduled to be held in India, the Australian ODI series is a good opportunity for the selectors to take a look at other members in the squad.
The rest of the bowling attack could also be discussed after their last match performances. But then, the selectors can’t drop any bowler on the basis of the Mumbai match performances.
A year ago, this was the same bowling attack, which made impressions Down Under. Following that, the Indian bowlers’ performance soared during the 2015 World Cup in Australia.
From there on, the bowling in the shorter formats has been a worry for the team. However, India would be encouraged by Ravichandran Ashwin’s availability in the ODI team.
It would be interesting to see if the selectors retain Harbhajan Singh, who is in the radar for selection for the World T20 Indian team. In a way, the selectors will have to fall back on experience to make the right bowling combination in the spin department.
With Ishant Sharma hurting his feat during the Vijay Hazare Trophy recently, the pace bowling combo will be an interesting bit of the selection meeting. Coming to the batting department, there is a school of thought which believes that the No. 6 and 7 slots still need to handled cautiously.
If opener Shikhar Dhawan fails in Australia, this Indian team could be tempted to try out Ajinkya Rahane at the top of the order with Rohit Sharma.
This in turn could help the selectors to pick an experience all-rounder along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Stuart Binny. After all, it’s only the all-rounders who can win you matches in shorter and shortest versions of the game!
