Ishant Sharma and Suresh Raina emerged the most prominent omissions as the Indian squads for the Asia Cup and the ICC World T20 were announced here on Tuesday.
Ishant was left out of both teams while Raina found a place in the T20 side. Against the backdrop of unflattering ODI results in South Africa and New Zealand, neither decision came as a huge surprise.
There was good news, however, for Stuart Binny, who was named in both squads, and Cheteshwar Pujara, who was called up to the Asia Cup side seemingly to lend stability to a brittle middle-order. Pujara played his career’s two ODIs last year against Zimbabwe, but was subsequently overlooked.
Aaron in both teams
Varun Aaron, who was part of the one-day side in New Zealand, also found a berth in both squads while Yuvraj Singh and Haryana’s Mohit Sharma will travel for the World T20.
The All-India Senior Selection Committee, chaired by Sandeep Patil, met here on the sidelines of the Irani Cup. It was widely understood that Ishant’s place was under question, especially after the 25-year-old fast bowler was dropped from the last three ODIs in New Zealand.
Raina’s position was also in doubt. The left-hander has scored only one half-century in his last 24 one-day innings, a period in which he averages 26.40. He was excluded from the last two one-dayers against the Black Caps.
Binny’s cause will have been helped by the hundred he hammered in the Irani Cup. The all-rounder will hope, though, for greater involvement than the one over in his only outing in New Zealand.
The Asia Cup will be held from February 25 to March 8 and the ICC World Twenty20 from March 16 to April 6, both in Bangladesh.
The squads
Asia Cup
M.S. Dhoni (capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron, Stuart Binny, Amit Mishra and Ishwar Pandey.
ICC World T20
M.S. Dhoni (capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny, Amit Mishra, Mohit Sharma and Varun Aaron.
