The Indian team for the ICC Champions Trophy this June has been announced and while most players were automatic selections, fit-again Rohit Sharma and Mohammad Shami have both been included in the team.
Rohit, after recovering from a thigh injury he sustained during the Test series against England last year, has replaced opener K L Rahul who has been out of action since March due to a shoulder injury. Shami is making a comeback to the 50-over squad having last played an ODI during 2015 World Cup semi-final.
“The back-up opener will be Ajinkya Rahane,” said Chairman of Selectors MSK Prasad while announcing the team.
Overall, the selection panel, kept faith in the squad which defeated England in a home series earlier this year.
Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey pipped young chinaman Kuldeep Yadav as the 15th member of the touring party. Pandey has made it as an extra batsman in the squad to be led by Virat Kohli. Prasad said the selectors seriously considered Kuldeep Yadav too before he was put on the standby list.
"We definitely considered the name of Kuldeep. He would have been a surprise package but whether we would have played with two spinners is a question. Since Yuvraj (Singh) and Kedar (Jadhav) can bowl spin, he narrowly missed out," Prasad explained.
Some of the other names that were discussed seriously were keeper-batsmen Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Shardul Thakur and Suresh Raina. Along with Kuldeep, these four are also on the standby list.
(Read: BCCI Selector Reveals Names of Players Who “Narrowly Missed Out”)
Prasad made it clear that even though IPL is a premier domestic tournament, the performance of players in the event can't be the sole criteria for selecting a squad for a 50-over tournament.
"We respect IPL but in the longer format, we have to also consider the English conditions that we are playing in. Not just IPL but one needs to take into account the performance of last one year also in such a big tournament," Prasad said.
With no surprises in the team, Prasad said it was an easy team to pick as it has shaped up well in the last four months.
"May be one place here and there. But this is the best side."
Lots of anticipation around Suresh Raina with the Gujarat Lions skipper expected to make a comeback, but there seems to have been no place for him.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be the wicket-keeper in the side.
Overall, the selectors kept faith in the squad which defeated England in a home series earlier this year.
The Champions Trophy starts on 1 June in London with India playing their first game on 4 June against Pakistan.
The Squad:
Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Manish Pandey.
(More to follow)
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