The All India Senior Selection Committee met in Delhi to pick the Indian Team for the Test series in Sri Lanka. After the meeting, Chairman of the committee, Mr. Sandeep Patil, and the Honorary Secretary of BCCI, Mr. Anurag Thakur, addressed the media to answer various questions on the team that was selected.
During the interaction, both Mr. Thakur and Mr. Patil stressed on the importance of the standard of fitness every player has to meet in order to represent the national team, besides being in good playing form.
“Apart from the performances of players, we also discuss their fitness on tours. BCCI is very keen for a system where anyone who gets selected to play for Team India should qualify the standards of fitness we have,” Mr. Thakur said. “NCA will play a very important role in their regards, not only for the national team but also A and U-19 teams. Once the players are in the reckoning for selection, they should know what fitness standards we are looking at and qualify accordingly.”
It was on the basis of these fitness reports that leg-spinner Karn Sharma and pacer Mohammad Shami were not discussed for the Sri Lanka tour, said Mr. Patil.
“We always have the fitness report prior to the selection committee meeting,” the chief selector said. “Karn Sharma has still not recovered from his injury and it is the same with Mohammad Shami. So, these two players were not discussed.”
The selectors have picked three spinners for the Test series, consisting of Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin and Amit Mishra. It will be a comeback for Mishra, who played his last Test in 2011. Patil said the attack was picked keeping in mind the conditions and wickets in Sri Lanka.
“Regarding the combination of the bowling attack, we always try to maintain a good balance. And for the wickets in Sri Lanka, all of the selectors felt this is the best combination to go ahead with,” Mr. Patil said.
“We are very happy that Harbhajan has come back strong. Now we all want the spin attack comprising Harbhajan, Ashwin and Amit Mishra to deliver.
“Mishra was always in the scheme of things. Even last year he was in the reserves. Pragyan Ojha was discussed for this tour but looking at the conditions in Sri Lanka and their performances against the leg-spinners, we gave preference to Mishra,” Mr. Patil clarified.
Another question was regarding the slot of wicketkeeper, which Wriddhiman Saha has taken over after the Test retirement of MS Dhoni. Saha’s Test tally so far is 153 runs in five Tests at an average of 17.00. If Virat Kohli goes in with his favoured combination of five bowlers and six batsmen, Saha will bat at No. 6. Asked if he has the technique to bat at that position, Mr. Patil said he should be given enough chances before raising questions over his batting ability.
“If Saha has the technique to bat at 6, time will tell,” he said. “We have backed him looking at his performance in domestic cricket and the kind of experience he carries. You cannot just replace someone like Dhoni and come in and deliver immediately. But we certainly feel that Wriddhiman Saha is the right option at this stage. Given his ability with the bat, we should strike a good balance in the team.”
Although there is no reserve wicketkeeper in the squad of 15, Patil said they have a backup ready if any injury were to happen to Saha. “We have nominated a stand-by wicketkeeper. If there is an injury on the Sri Lanka tour, we know who will replace the wicketkeeper,” Mr. Patil said.
The Chairman of the selectors also took a moment to acknowledge India’s impressive performance on the recent tour of Zimbabwe where the team won the ODI series 3-0 and drew the T20I series 1-1. He said the selectors will continue to back players irrespective of their age.
“We are very happy with the kind of performance the team delivered in Zimbabwe. It was a very young team with Ajinkya Rahane leading for the first time. We will continue to support players based on their form and fitness without looking at their age.”
Mr. Thakur confirmed that India will travel to Sri Lanka without a head coach with Team Director Ravi Shastri leading the current support staff.
“We will go with the same setup that we have had in the last few months until we decide on the head coach. The cricket advisory committee will meet soon to shortlist the names and recommend it to the BCCI,” the Secretary said.
