NEW DELHI, June 12 (PTI): There might not be a knee-jerk reaction to India’s second successive
World Test Championship final defeat but senior players Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav’s
places could come under the scanner before the team travels to West Indies for a two-Test
series.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mukesh Kumar are in contention to replace the duo as the selection
committee starts preparing the next batch of players for tougher assignments.
India will have a month-long tour of West Indies where they would start with two Test matches
starting July 12, followed by three ODIs and five T20Is in which a completely new team under
Hardik Pandya’s captaincy will be plying its trade with IPL performers likely to be rewarded.
While another WTC final defeat will hurt the team, there is a strong feeling that the Shiv Sunder
Das-led selection committee and head coach Rahul Dravid will be looking at some options going
into the next WTC cycle, which starts with the series in the Caribbean.
The two weak links as of now seem to be Pujara and Umesh, who haven’t been up to the mark
for a long time.
“You need to strike a balance. Selection is a process of elimination but you need that blend of
youth and experience. The idea should be long-term and you have to look at a two- year cycle
now.
“I believe Yashasvi Jaiswal is ready for international cricket. He has scored double hundreds in
Ranji, Irani and Duleep Trophy. Looks solid in terms of temperament and could be groomed
while being given enough chances to grow,” former national selector Devang Gandhi told PTI.
Another former national selector, who refused to be quoted, was critical of the BCCI not having
any A Tour programme since the tour of Bangladesh last December.
“Look, Umesh is at the business end of his career but with no A tour programme, you don’t
know who all are ready. There was a time when we had Mayank Agarwal, Rishabh Pant,
Hanuma Vihari, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini ready through consistent A tours and shadow
series.
“Now you don’t know. I presume the only form bowler is Mukesh Kumar but he is a seamer and
not an express pacer,” the selector said.
