Karnataka pacer Prasidh Krishna could be a surprise pick in India’s squad for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, to be held in Southampton from June 18 to June 22.
According to a Cricbuzz report, though Prasish Krishna is competing directly with more experienced Navdeep Saini, he might get the nod for the extra pacer’s slot after impressing the team management during the ODI series against England in March.
Playing for the first time in national colours, Krishna did reasonably well in the matches played against the defending World Cup champions in Pune. He took six scalps from three outings at an average of 29.00, including the best of 4/54.
Krishna boasts of a decent record in his early days at the first-class level, having taken 34 wickets from 9 outings at an average of 20.26 with two four-wicket hauls and one five-fer.
Either side of Krishna, India’s fast-bowling roster will feature familiar names, including Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur. Shami and Umesh are expected to make their comebacks after missing the majority of India’s Tests in Australia and at home versus England due to their respective injuries.
Depending on the BCCI advisory, India could travel to the UK with an extended squad, keeping in mind the travelling restrictions amid the pandemic and also the five-Test series against England from August-September.
“The selectors are expected to pick a jumbo squad consisting of at least four openers, about four to five middle-order batsmen, eight to nine pacers, four to five spinners and two to three wicketkeepers,”
Cricbuzz reported.
An enlarged touring party will help the team management overcome logistical hurdles and arrange intra-squad matches before and after the World Test Championship final.
The Chetan Sharma led India senior selection panel could pick the squad on Friday, without too many shocking inclusions or exclusions. However, discussions could hover around all-round Hardik Pandya and opening batsman Prithvi Shaw.
Hardik could be overlooked as he hasn’t yet resumed bowling on a regular basis, whereas Shaw might miss out despite resurrecting his form in recent months because of the number of other top-order options in the squad. Shaw is fighting for the opener’s slot with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul.
Cheteshwar Pujara, skipper Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane are set to carry the middle-order responsibilities in a squad that will witness the comebacks of Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari, who both missed the England Test series in February-March.
Vihari, whose last Test outing in Sydney saw him battle an injury to save India the New Year’s Test, is currently on a county stint in the UK. Premier all-rounder Jadeja, now recovered from his thumb injury, is an automatic choice in the playing XI to face New Zealand and England.
In the spin department, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, who made a fantastic beginning in Test cricket against England, are obvious choices, with Washington Sundar potentially playing back-up.
Rishabh Pant and Wriddhiman Saha are certainties on the wicketkeeping front, but the selectors could still consider travelling with KS Bharat as the third gloveman.
It isn’t yet known when and how the squad will be flying across to the UK. The initial plan was to take off via a chartered flight on June 2 from Ahmedabad after the scheduled end of the IPL 2021 on May 30. But with the IPL getting suspended, the whole plan is about to be tweaked. Players could enjoy extra days with their families before refocusing on national duty.
