Mumbai, January 17: Has Munaf Patel clinched a berth in the World Cup squad? That perhaps is an obvious question begging for an obvious answer. The bowling heroics are too few in Indian cricket and the 27-year-old pacer’s exploits at the Wanderers on Saturday night may have cleared way for his selection. S Sreesanth or Ishant Sharma, may be both, could be the loser(s) in the bargain.
Despite MS Dhoni’s assertion that one night’s performance would not count in the selection, the Baroda pacer seems to have convinced Krishnamachari Srikkanth and his committee about his utility in the squad. It is very unlikely that Munaf will be left out of the 15-man squad that will be announced in Chennai on Monday morning. The selection committee sources say that Munaf was 50-50 prior to the Wanderers ODI but admit that it will be difficult for them to leave him out after. “He was always in our scheme of things. He was a contender. Now he should be in,” said a source in the committee.
Munaf’s inclusion means curtains for Sreesanth and Ishant. Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar and Munaf look the first choice pacers, which means India will go into the quadrennial competition without two of their fastest bowlers. Srees anth, one of the heroes of the Test series against South Africa, has an outside chance of being preferred to Nehra but that could be the captain’s call. As the source puts it, Sreesanth is now 50-50.
The main point of discussion could be the candidate for the second spinner’s slot. With Harbhajan Singh booking his place, the discussion will veer around R Ashwin and the two leg-spinners — Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla in the 30 probables at their disposal. In the ideal scenario, the selectors should go for one of the leggies but how wise would be the decision to go with a second off-spinner will be the moot point. Ashwin, obviously, is not without support in the committee but if he were tobe eventually picked, it willnot just be for the support. The Tamil Nadu offie has proved his merit whenever he has had a chance.
The selectors seem to be having consensus on one issue — that is not to go with two wicket-keepers. Dinesh Kart hik and Parthiv Patel, who were part of the World Cup squads in 2007 and 2003 respectively, are no great shakes with the bat to close the option of going with another specialist. With the championship taking place in India, one of them can be added to the squad at a short notice. Omission of second wicket-keeper means the selectors have a chance to pick an extra batsman or a pacer or a third spinner. In that context, Rohit Sharma, Ashwin and Sreesanth come into the picture. It will be a sleepless night for them.
Given the enormity of the championship, the selectors will shun experimentation and in the absence of consensus on any particular point, they might go with the preference of the team management. So unlike in the past, the views of Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten may get primacy.
–Agencies