Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant; both were hoping to find a spot in the squad for the World Cup.
MSK Prasad, the chairman of the Indian cricket selection committee broke his silence on the inclusion of Dinesh Karthik in place of Pant in the 15 member squad that was announced recently for the ICC 2019 World Cup that is to be conducted in England. This being his first world cup squad selection, he stated that the committee had done their homework thoroughly and the selections made were backed by analysis and a lot of thought process keeping in mind the form of the players in several matches as well as the playing conditions of the host nation. He added that their primary aim was to provide the Indian skipper Virat Kohli with the best viable 15 players, and he feels that the committee was successful in doing so.
He went on to clarify the reason behind the exclusion of Ambati Raydu who had essentially cemented himself for the vacant number 4 position. After a lot of permutations and combinations for the number 4 spot, eventually, Raydu fell out of the race at the penultimate time. Prasad feels that Vijay being a three-dimensional player can add a lot more balance to the side as he can also be handed the ball in the cloudy conditions of England, considering his batting form he can very well fit into the Indian middle order scene. Moreover, Vijay being exceptional as a fielder was an added advantage. He went on to say that he surely feels for Raydu, but with Vijay’s performances in the last few months, it would have been very difficult to leave him out of the scheme of things for the World Cup.
The selection that grabbed the most number of eyeballs was of the backup wicketkeeper. A lot of people from fans to the cricketing fraternity have expressed their disbelief of leaving Rishabh Pant out of the squad. Prasad touched upon the fact that what made them pick Karthik over Pant. Prasad and his team feel that Karthik is closer to the role that MS Dhoni has in the team, and his experience doubled up with his quick glovework behind the stumps gave him an edge over Pant. However, he did not rule out the fact that the decision was definitely not an easy one to make as both of them deserved an opportunity to be in the world cup squad. Ultimately the selectors gave a green signal to experience ahead of flamboyance.
Prasad added that they had been building up to this day since a long time and have watched a lot of matches and players before coming to the conclusion of which 15 should board the flight to England. Striking the right balance was always the top priority for Prasad and he feels that he has covered all the bases eventually with all-rounders such as Ravinder Jadeja getting a nod along with Hardik Padya. Chahal and Kuldeep have featured consistently in the white ball cricket for several years, hence they too seemed an automatic choice. All of this topped with a formidable pace attack of Bumrah, Kumar and Shami will only elevate India’s chances to lift the World Cup Trophy for the third time in the 50 over format.
To read more about the Indian squad that has been picked for the world cup, kindly click here: https://www.sportsindiashow.com/indian-world-cup-squad-announced/
