Mumbai: When former India World Cupper and present selector Roger Binny arrived late for the all-important selection meet to name the 15-man squad for the World Cup and the tri-series prior to that, speculations were rife that four other selectors were discussing whether Roger’s son Stuart should be on the on the plane to Australia. In the past, Binny Sr had stepped out of the room each time his son’s name came up.
Ironically it was the delayed flight from Bangalore that led to his late arrival in Mumbai but more importantly Patil and Co. were convinced that the lone medium-pace all-rounder in the list of 30 probables deserved to be part of the group. Barring Binny Jr, there were no real surprises in the squad as Ravindra Jadeja’s positive fitness report shut the door on Yuvraj Singh. Three centuries in the Ranji Trophy had elicited interest but the selectors who were joined by skipper M. S. Dhoni and coach Duncan Fletcher via teleconference from Australia chose not to tinker with the current set of the players. Except Dhoni, the squad has only three survivors in Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and R. Ashwin from the victorious campaign in 2011.
Before the meeting, the selectors and board secretary Sanjay Patel and also the convener of the meeting were given a report by physio Nitin Patel about Jadeja’s injury. The left-arm spinner returned from Australia and had rehabilitation in Chennai. He is back home in Rajkot, but is expected to be in Chennai again on Thursday to start his fielding drills. “Jadeja, at present, is going under a rehabilitation programme. He is doing wonderfully well,” said Patel later. “Today, we had a detailed discussion with the physio of the BCCI and we are quite hopeful that within the next ten days, he will be fit to play,” Patel said.
He further added that Ishant Sharma’s injury was also not a big concern. The lanky pacer was left out of the Sydney Test with pain in his left knee. “Ishant has a temporary injury with which he is doing well. But he has been advised by our present Indian team physio not to play the current Test. He will be fit for the tri-series,” he added.
The batting unit looks familiar with Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma all capable of opening the innings which effectively ruled out Murali Vijay. Ambati Rayudu, who can keep wickets was persisted with which meant there was no place for Robin Uthappa. Axar Patel’s rapid rise along with the seasoned R. Ashwin and Jadeja meant there was no place for a leg spinner.
The pace bowling, India’s weakest link comprises Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Sharma. While the quartet has considerable experience of playing ODIs, none of the four have featured in a 50-over World Cup before.
