Fresh from a string of fine performances with the India ‘A’ team, Gurkeerat Singh found his just rewards. The Punjab all-rounder was picked in the Indian ODI squad for the first three games of the five-match series against South Africa during October.
Gurkeerat, who also bowls off-spin, was recognised for his performance with the ‘A’ team — two for 42 and 87 n.o., against Australia ‘A’ in the tri-series final in August, and a 65 and a five-for recently against Bangladesh ‘A’.
If the 25-year-old made his maiden steps into the Indian team, Karnataka’s left-arm seamer S. Arvind retraced his earlier path to the national colours.
Arvind gained a spot in the Indian T20 squad for the three-match series commencing with the one at Dharamshala on October 2.
Drafted into the Indian squad in the past, Arvind never got a match and subsequently injuries derailed him. He persevered, worked his way back and has helped Karnataka dominate domestic cricket.
Other than Gurkeerat and Arvind, the rest of the two squads feature the regulars led by M.S. Dhoni, who had skipped the Zimbabwe tour while Ravindra Jadeja (form issues) and Mohammed Shami (fitness worries) were left out. Amit Mishra too found a berth in the two outfits while Harbhajan Singh will do duty only in T20s.
After the selection committee finalised the teams here on Sunday, chairman Sandeep Patil flanked by BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, addressed the media. Patil quickly scoffed rumours about doubts centred around Dhoni’s role as skipper in the shorter formats.
Replying to a pointed query, Patil said: “We have not discussed anything in that manner regarding the captaincy of the ODIs. We are very happy with the way M.S. Dhoni has led.”
Later Thakur too refuted the speculation: “Today we are having discussions about having different coaches for two different formats and not just captains. So it all depends upon what your requirement is, if a situation arises like this and that helps Indian cricket from having different captains for different formats, why not?”
Patil mentioned that Gurkeerat was preferred for his all-round ability. “You need more all-rounders and Gurkeerat has come up really well,” Patil said and on Arvind, he added: “We wanted variation. We wanted to give more opportunities to players who have done well in domestic circuit so that we arrive at our (best) possible combination before the World Twenty20 (in India next year).”
Dwelling upon players, who were overlooked, Patil said that Shami was still undergoing rehabilitation while Jadeja and Ishant Sharma were discussed.
The schedule: T20 Series: Dharamshala, Oct. 2; Cuttack, Oct. 5; Kolkata, Oct. 8.
First three ODIs: Kanpur, Oct. 11; Indore, Oct. 14; Rajkot, Oct. 18.
The teams (from):
For T20 series: M.S. Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Stuart Binny, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Amit Mishra and S. Arvind.
For first three ODIs: M.S. Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Gurkeerat Singh, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav.
