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Losing to Australia in the World Trials final would not trigger a backlash from the BCCI. The Indian Express knew there would be no major changes for next month’s two-Test series against the West Indies.
Rohit Sharma’s Test squad will play two Test matches in Dominica and Trinidad from July 12.
However, with the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit and Virat Kohli more or less in the same age group, the selectors want to field a team with a mixture of youth and experience for the Border Gavaskar Series in Australia – India’s last stint of the 2023-2025 WTC cycle.
The Australian team celebrates with Captain Pat Cummins holding the winners’ trophy during the victory ceremony for the final of the ICC World Test Championship at The Oval Cricket Ground in London, Sunday, June 11, 2023. The Australians defeated India on the final day of the Test. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
The selectors are looking to avoid what happened during the 2012-14 phase, when the Fab Four retired and it took time to build up the core group of batsmen. But the transition will happen after the West Indies series, and that too one place at a time depending on the form of the batsmen. The next series after the two Tests in the West Indies will be against South Africa in December.
With a gap of almost five months between the two tours and no first-class cricket in the said period, India plans to stick with experienced batsmen for the time being.
As previously reported, Mumbai’s Yashasvi Jaiswal and Maharashtra’s Ruturaj Gaikwad are part of the Test squad’s plans going forward. However, the duo may have to wait for the opening.
Although there are concerns about Rohit’s fitness, with no other captain in sight, the selectors plan to continue with him at least until the end of the Over-50 World Cup in India later this year. No call will be made about his future in the ODI and Test format until after the World Cup. It is understood that just like the T20s, where a separate team is being prepared under Hardik Pandya, the selectors plan to do the same in ODIs as well.
Since there are plenty of options in India in the white-ball setup, the transition phase is likely to start with the ODI team before the Test side.
India’s Chetchwar Pujara tries to field a ball by Australian Pat Cummins, but the ball catches a glancing at his bat and is caught behind by Australian Alex Carey in the fourth day of the ICC World Series final between India and Australia at the Oval Cricket Ground in London, Saturday 10 June 2023 AP/PTI (AP06_10_2023_000255B)
Cheteshwar Pujara will likely be retained for the West Indies despite not making an impact during the World Series Tennis Final. The 35-year-old, a 103-Test veteran, was dropped after India’s tour of South Africa in 2021/22, only to return six months later.
In the eight Tests since his return, he has scored one century and crossed fifty just once. While he was scoring big in Sussex County cricket, there were concerns even within the team management to call him up in 2022. However, there was a school of thought at the BCCI that he deserved another chance, particularly due to his past performances in difficult conditions in Australia.
With Jaiswal continually serving on the home circuit, there is talk of him grooming him for the No. 3 spot. With plenty of options available for the opening slot, team management and selectors believe his compact style and aggressive hitting is what the team needs for the No. 3 finish.
With teams preferring to play on results-oriented surfaces, having at least one or two aggressive batsmen is an absolute must. Jaiswal in third and Shubman Gill at the top could be what the long-term selectors are looking for. It is known that Jaiswal’s name will come up for discussion when the selectors meet to select the Test team for the West Indies series.
After the tour of South Africa, India’s next series will be played at the World Trade Center Course at home against England (five Tests) in January and February followed by Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand in October and November.
Search head specific
Off the field, BCCI is still looking for a suitable chosen chairperson, which senior figures on the board feel is critical to the transition. Since Chetan Sharma stepped down as chair of selectors earlier this year, the BCCI has not appointed a replacement with SS Das as acting director.
After the publication of the IPL, it is understood that the board officials approached two popular players from Northern Province, who had played more than 100 matches each, but they rejected the offer citing the low wage package. Sources on the board have indicated that they have searched for another player from the 2011 World Cup winning team, but are still waiting for a response.
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