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Indian selectors finally got courage to drop Harbhajan Singh

The big headlines might be “Indian selectors finally got courage to drop Harbhajan Singh” but not now and had that happened some time in last year. When Indian team was missing four of its match winning senior players, it is very strange to understand why Harbhajan was excluded when team needed his experience most.

By making Harbhajan as captain for India Green team in Challenger trophy are selectors indicating that he needs to spend time in domestics? If so then why was not he picked for Irani Trophy? Or he was axed for poor show in ODIs last two years? Well than with half of the first team is out due to injuries, is it worth the risk especially in the crucial series against England? I don’t think so. He bowled lot better and looked in very good rhythm (saw him bowl doosra after ages which itself is a good indications for his growing confidence) in both the T20 matches he played for Mumbai Indians in Champions League.

Apart from Harbhajan drop, selectors also have gone bizarre in other selections by handing the Karnataka left arm medium pacer Aravind and Punjab leg spinner Rahul Sharma their maiden international call-ups. Both of them had superb IPL season earlier this year. That must be the reason for their selection since both either not impressed with any recent performance or have had huge domestic records to merit their way into the Indian team. Also surprisingly selectors decided to leave out Nehra who was looked like automatic select into ODI squad till World Cup. Umesh Yadav gets his call back into the team on the back of sheer reputation of being fast rather than with good performances. Surely Sreesanth who took 7 wickets in just 3 ODIs at home in last year could have been better partner for Praveen than any of this young bowlers.

Indian ODI squad is a mix of 5 batsmen, 2 Wk-batsmen, 1 all-rounder, 2 spinners and 5 seamers, which again begs the question whether there is any planning by selectors or team management for the series? India is virtually batsmen short unless otherwise Patel was picked as batsmen rather as Wk-batsmen. Are the selectors informed that the series is actually in India not in Australia or England? Or they are trying to make fun by picking 5 seamers? Or Showing the world that India has got seam bowlers? Anyway only BCCI and Indian selectors can even think of selecting teams like this.

Most likely the Indian team sheet in the first match will read like this Gambhir, Rahane, Kohli, Tiwary, Dhoni, Raina, Jadeja, Ashwin, Praveen, Vinay and Rahul Sharma. I think Yusuf has quality to be part of this line-up and at home he was always a devastating force to have. If India fails to use their pitches to trouble English batsmens then it’s going to be another long series against England for merely few above nothing.

Indian selectors made the home advantage to nothing but hope atleast BCCI is not in the choice of pitch for the matches.

Tags: Cricket, England, Harbhajan Singh, India, Indian Cricket Team, Indian Selectors, MS Dhoni, ODI Series, ODIs, Squad