If starting with Jitesh Sharma in the last three T20s in Australia felt like an experiment, his selection over fellow wicketkeeper batter Sanju Samson in the series opener against South Africa provided ample clarity over the team management's thought process going into the World Cup at home.
The think tank can't be blamed for preferring a specialist lower-order finisher ahead of Samson, who was displaced at the top of the order for no fault of his own after Shubman Gill's return to the shortest format. He has struggled to make the eleven since then.
Jitesh, who calls his finisher's role in the team as bread and butter, is expected to start the T20 World Cup for India unless he fares poorly in preceding series against South Africa and New Zealand.
At this stage, it is also difficult to look beyond Samson and Jitesh for the wicket-keeping options in the squad. And do the selectors need to think out of the box in this context? “It is the right call. If Sanju is not in top three and if the keeper is batting in the middle order, you rather play a specialist, a lower order batter than a top order batter. It is not easy batting for two balls or four balls. "Jitesh is a specialist in that regard," former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta said. "Nine games to go before the World Cup, I don't see too many changes ahead of this big tournament," he reckoned.
The selection on Tuesday night also made it clear that it is difficult to accommodate both Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep in the 11 if the team needs batting till number eight. In spin-friendly conditions in the UAE, Arshdeep, India's leading wicket-taker, was benched for a majority of the games, raising a few eyebrows.
He was picked for three of the five games Down Under before making an impact in the series opener against the Proteas in Cuttack, having the dangerous caught behind with an outswinger. The left-arm pacer's death bowling skills are also hard to match in the shortest format. With Arshdeep in the side, another match winner, Kuldeep Yadav, was left out.
In the ODI series, Kuldeep had managed to get a clutch of wickets even in heavy dew, underlining his immense value to the side. " The way Arshdeep is bowling, you have to pick him. He is the highest wicket-taker for you in the format. You would want to have both ideally but you can't (with batting needed till 8)," said Dasgupta, who is part of the commentary panel for the ongoing series.
Overall, it is a team that doesn't need a lot of fixing ahead of the World Cup but the lack of runs from skipper Suryakumar Yadav's bat is a growing concern. Vice-captain Shubman Gill could also do with a few runs.
Also read: Bowlers power India to huge 101-run win over SA in first T20I
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