Mumbai: Young cricketers aspire to cut their teeth under an inspirational leader. More than a few such prayers were answered here on Monday with a youthful squad set to board the flight to Zimbabwe for a limited-overs (three ODIs, three T20Is) series starting June 11 under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The selection committee, chaired by Sandeep Patil and BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke, announced separate squads for the African sojourn and the four-match Test series in the West Indies to follow.
“Since Dhoni retired from Tests, he was keen to tour with youngsters. It is a good opportunity for them to learn from him,” said Patil at the BCCI headquarters here on Monday.
A report from Team India physiotherapist Patrick Farhat, suggested Test captain Virat Kohli be rested after the IPL. “Kohli will rest after IPL; Murali Vijay had a niggle, so he isn’t included in the Zimbabwe tour. Ashish Nehra will undergo surgery for his hamstring injury. Barring these three, there were no injury concerns,” Patil added.
As many as 17 cricketers, including all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who were instrumental in the team’s limited-overs coursework in Australia, Asia Cup and the ICC World Twenty20 were overlooked.
Yuvraj Singh (34) and Harbhajan Singh (35), who sprang back earlier this year in T20I cricket, were ignored in a worrying sign for their future. Mohammad Shami, who last played a Test one-and-a half years ago in Australia, will be back in whites after consistent, injury-free outings in domestic tournaments and the IPL.
Karnataka batsman Lokesh Rahul earned a maiden one-day international and T20I call-up after his brilliant run of form for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Yuzvendra Chahal, another RCB recruit, cracked the code as well. Speedster Shardul Thakur is in the 17-member Test squad for the West Indies, while Ajinkya Rahane’s exclusion from the Zimbabwe-bound team raised eyebrows.
