Ajinkya Rahane has been named captain of the Indian team for the tour of Zimbabwe. Acceding to requests from several senior players, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday named a second-string side for the 13-day tour of the African nation.
Six regular players have been rested after a hectic season as the national selectors named several youngsters in the side that would play three One-Day Internationals and two T20 Internationals. Ravi Shastri, who was the coach on the recent tour to Bangladesh, would not be accompanying the team due to “prior engagements”.
The six players rested are captain M.S. Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin.
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Ravindra Jadeja, who has had a string of poor performance since the World Cup, and pacer Umesh Yadav have been dropped. Yadav, however, would return to the India A side for the two four-day matches against Australia A later in July.
“Unless a player requests, we do not consider it (giving a rest). We have picked the team considering the upcoming domestic and international cricket to be played by the Indian team and also looking at the T20 World Cup, to be played early next year. We also think and agree that the Indian team did not do well in Bangladesh but we need to move forward,” selection committee chairman Sandeep Patil said here after the meeting on Monday.
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Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh returns to the limited-overs format after four years, while Manoj Tiwary, battling injuries more than the opposition also finds a place. The team doesn’t have a specialist wicketkeeper with Robin Uthappa, Kedar Jadhav and Ambati Rayudu being part-timers.
Giving Rahane the captaincy is the selectors’ way of reiterating their faith in the youngster who was dropped for two of the three games against Bangladesh. While skipper Dhoni was categorical in saying that Rahane would have to wait, Patil said the selectors were not only happy with his game but backed him completely.
“If the five of us have decided to give this responsibility to him, we are confident of his abilities. We want him to do well and also judge him [at captaincy] at the same time. We are very happy with the way his career is shaping up. He is one of the most consistent batsmen we have and that’s why we want to see him from another angle as well. We will definitely back him all the way,” he added.
No decision on coachThe BCCI is also in no hurry to get a new coach for the Indian team since Duncan Fletcher’s contract ended after the World Cup. Asked about a timeline for a new appointment, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur was not worried. “The Cricket Advisory Committee is looking into it and shortlisting the names for the coach. It will meet by the end of July and then we will see,” he said.