Rohit, Shami back for Champions Trophy
Rohit Sharma returns to the international set-up for the first time since October last year after being named in India’s 15-man squad that will defend its title at the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 in England next month.
The national selectors led by MSK Prasad met in New Delhi on Monday (May 8) morning and quickly announced the squad that contained few surprises and no new faces.
Rohit last played for the country in the final One-Day International against New Zealand in Visakhapatnam, picking up a thigh injury during that game which necessitated surgery.
There is a recall to the ODI squad too of Mohammed Shami, the Bengal paceman who hasn’t played in a 50-over international since India’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 semifinal loss to Australia in Sydney in March 2015. Shami only recently returned to action after sustaining a right knee injury while playing against England in the third Test in Mohali in November last year.
Also back in the mix after missing the three ODIs against England at home in January is Manish Pandey. The Karnataka middle-order batsman had played in all five games against New Zealand in October with modest success, but his experience and subsequent good form have earned him a recall.
In KL Rahul’s injury-enforced absence, Shikhar Dhawan keeps his place in the Virat Kohli-led squad, with Ajinkya Rahane as a back-up opening option. Dhawan and Rohit played key roles when India won the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, also in England. India will kick off its Group B campaign this time around against Pakistan in Birmingham on June 4. The other teams in the group are South Africa and Sri Lanka.
While Yuvraj Singh and Kedar Jadhav expectedly occupy the middle-order slots alongside Dhoni, Hardik Pandya is the sole seam-bowling all-rounder. The other quicks in the squad, apart from Pandya and Shami, are Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, while Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin form the specialist spin component.
Prasad later told mediapersons that various other names were also seriously considered, including that of the exciting Rishabh Pant who has been in tremendous touch this season. "We are completely impressed with Rishabh Pant,” he said. “But he missed out because of squad combination. We will groom him for the future.”
Prasad reiterated that Dhoni was the best wicketkeeper in the world even now, moving swiftly to end any debate on the former skipper’s presence in the 15. “People talk only about his batting, but he is a wicketkeeper first, and he is a huge asset to the team,” said Prasad, himself a former India stumper. “He is the right man to groom Virat. People forget that in the last 10-12 years, MSD has never had a bad day behind the stumps. His position in the batting order will depend on what the team needs, we will leave that to the team management.”
Ashwin missed IPL 10 tending to a sports hernia injury, but Prasad said there were no injury concerns so far as the ace offie was concerned. "Ashwin's selection was not a difficult decision,” he emphasised. “He's had rest, isn't out of form. We've been preparing him for the Champions Trophy. The third spinner’s slot was a concern, not because of Ashwin's form though. The squad combination meant we went for the extra batsman.”
Prasad revealed that Kuldeep Yadav, the left-arm wrist spinner who made his Test debut against Australia in Dharamsala towards the end of March, had also been considered and had missed out narrowly, like Pant. “We discussed Kuldeep Yadav, who has been a solid player. He narrowly missed out and has a huge role to play in future.”
The chief selector added that Kuldeep, Pant, Shardul Thakur and the experienced pair of Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik had been identified as stand-by options.
The squad: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, R Ashwin, Manish Pandey, Mohammed Shami.
