Hyderabad: As the Indian squad for Windies tour was announced on Sunday, 21st of July, there were much furore amongst the masses regarding the selection of ageing Kedar Jadhav and ignoring youngster Shubman Gill.
Answering the critics for the selection of Kedar, chief selector MSK Prasad said that the Maharashtra cricketer hasn't done anything wrong for his non-inclusion and thus has been given another go.
Was it correct to give Kedar Jadhav another chance?
The selectors have categorically picked youngsters for the tour of West Indies so as to groom them in the upcoming years so that they fulfil their potential in the next World Cup which is set to be played in 2023 in India. However, this was not the case when MSK and his group of selectors chose Kedar Jadhav ahead of any other potential youngster.
Kedar Jadhav is presently 34 years of age and by the time the next World Cup is played, he will be 38. Hence, his selection into the squad seems to raise quite a few eyebrows. Further, Jadhav has been inconsistent throughout this year, averaging a mere 28.50 in the New Zealand tour, while only managing 1 fifty during Australia's tour of India wherein he scored 172 runs in 5 ODI matches.
In the Cricket World Cup, he batted in 5 innings but scored just 80 with a half-century that came against Afghanistan. He was also dropped from the final two matches of India's campaign due to his poor performance.
Why Shubman Gill has been sidelined?
Shubman Gill, for whom many cricketing pundits are lobbying is a 19 years old upcoming prodigy who is a right-handed top-order batsman. Having already debuted against the Kiwis in their home, Gill played in 2 matches. However, he wasn't able to create any impact on the side with returns of just 16 runs in the 2 innings that he played.
But one cannot judge one's temperament and ability by just giving two matches to prove oneself. Thus to clearly know whether Shubman has it in him to represent India in International stage, he should be given a minimum run of five matches wherein he will be assured of his start and only then can we know of his capabilities.
Shubman has an average of 46.82 in List A matches with 5 centuries and 9 fifties. He is a fluid top-order batsman who maintains a good strike-rate while batting and can bat anywhere for his side right from the opening to the number-four position. Even in the ongoing List-A series between India A and West Indies A, Gill had produced two match-winning knocks of 62 and 77 to steer India to an easy win.
Thus, Shubman needs to be groomed if India would need a strong bench heading into the World Cup and who knows he might even cement his place into the playing eleven if some sort of faith is shown to him as was shown to Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in their initial days.
Age is by Shubman's side. He will turn 20 in September and will be 23 by the time India play the next World Cup. Hence, he needs to be groomed just like Pant is being groomed so that he can live up to his true potential.
Were selectors right to back Kedar and leave out Shubman?
One can understand the selector's point of view too. Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya both don the finisher's role for Team India. Since Hardik Pandya is missing from the Indian limited-overs' squad, one experienced finisher was needed in the team who can help the team out of crunch situations and that is where Kedar made his place into the team.
The other middle-order batsman who can also be groomed for the finisher's role is Manish Pandey. However, since he is not that experienced and would be vying to make a mark in the squad, thus Kedar was given yet another chance.
Jadhav can also bowl at crucial junctures to break partnerships and considering Hardik is not in the team, the management might decide to go with 7 batsmen including Jadhav as an all-rounder to accommodate both of Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey into the playing eleven and hand them a chance to prove themselves.
Shubman Gill, on the other hand, hasn't performed well whenever given a chance to bat lower down the order as seen in the IPL. He is a top-order batsman and should thus not be experimented at a position in which he is not fully comfortable.
Thus for the present series, it makes sense to choose Kedar over Shubman as the team needs an all-rounder and a finisher, however, in the long run, Shubman should find a place in the team and Kedar should be overlooked due to his age and recent performance with the bat.
