Skipper Suryakumar Yadav and his deputy Shubman Gill’s indifferent form is a massive concern, but the national selection committee is unlikely to make any shocking changes when it picks the 15-member squad for next year’s T20 World Cup here on Saturday.
The BCCI would be at liberty to replace any of the named 15 till the start of the T20 World Cup on February 7.
While nobody in the BCCI is spelling it out, the global event in India could well be the last for Suryakumar as national T20 skipper. He is already 35 and has been out of form for the past one year.
The committee will also pick the T20 squad for New Zealand, which will be the same as the one chosen for the T20 World Cup.
For the time being, there aren’t any slots up for grabs, although Gill’s position has repeatedly come under scanner, while an in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal waits in the wings.
It remains to be seen if the selectors name Jaiswal as an extra player for the New Zealand series just to observe him, in case he is needed during the mega-event to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
The reserve opener’s slot currently belongs to Sanju Samson, who was wrongfully displaced from his position when the selection committee and an important member of the team think-tank decided to fix something that wasn’t broken.
Had the T20 World Cup been six months away, there was every possibility of the selection committee looking at alternative options for leadership.
However, what has worked in Suryakumar’s favour is an early T20 World Cup and form deserting his deputy Gill, who was being seen as the all-format captain after taking over the reins of the Test and ODI sides.
But with only five games left before the opening World Cup match against the United States of America in Mumbai on February 7, no selection panel would want to break continuity.
192
No. of runs scored by Shubman Gill in his last 10 international innings (T20Is, Tests and ODIs)
12
Suryakumar Yadav’s highest score in the just-concluded T20I series vs South Africa. The skipper scored 33 runs @ 8.50
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