The Official Understudy

The team for the WI tour is announced. Clearly, performance in the IPL is not the yardstick for selection. Surely a tough pill to swallow, definitely a good message communicated to players and viewers to take domestic cricket seriously. Kudos!!!

Gambir (Captain)

Suresh Raina

Parthiv Patel (WK)

Virat Kohli

Yuvraj Singh

Badrinath

Rohit Sharma

Harbhajan Singh

Ashwin

Praveen Kumar

Ishant Sharma

Munaf Patel

Vinay Kumar

Yusuf Pathan

Amit Mishra

Wriddhiman Saha (WK)

It looks like Gambir will be the official deputy for Dhoni from here on. I’ve no qualms with the squad except for two players.  Before we divulge, I’ve to say it is really surprising to see so many seniors showing interest to play especially after the taxing schedule of South Africa Tour, World Cup and ongoing IPL.

I definitely expected players to be jaded and opt out of the short format. Once the availability is confirmed, selectors ensured they leave no stone unturned. After all, who want to be a loser after the World Cup glory?

Surely, felt the omission of Irfan Pathan little unfair. Guess the selectors wish to see Irfan doing well in domestic before rewarding the national cap for the England Tour. However, the exclusion of Ambati Rayudu is certainly harsh by the selectors. Considering Saha didn’t do anything attractive in the domestic, the choice of Rayudu would have made more sense for the second keeper. Considering the guy has done reasonably good in domestic too. This continued cold shoulder for Rayudu creates a feeling that BCCI has not changed its stance on ICL refugees for national spot.

For once, I should say even Sir Tendulkar could not push the case of Rayudu.

Here I present you a hypothetical question. If Gambir could not inspire Knight Riders for a spot in the Top 4, how good is he to lead the Indian side? In other way, if Gambir is efficient only to carry Knight Riders for a spot in the Top 4, is it more than sufficient to lead the national side? Wait to be proved wrong.

Now that he is the official understudy, it is good he learns the tricks of the trade.

Bottom line: Selectors played it safe. It will be surprise if it did not pay off...

Dinesh

Cricket Lover