MUMBAI: Indian cricket entered a new era as Virat Kohli was today officially anointed captain for all three formats as he took over leadership for the limited-overs series against England where veterans Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra will make a comeback.
While Mahendra Singh Dhoni, after more than nine years at the helm, will play only as keeper-batsman, the national selection committee under MSK Prasad’s chairmanship named rookie Delhi keeper Rishabh Pant in the T20 squad giving an indication as to whom they consider Dhoni’s successor.
The selection committee meeting today had its share of drama and was delayed by three hours on technical grounds before a go
ahead from the Lodha
panel set the proceedings rolling.
Today’s meeting was convened by BCCI CEO Rahul Johri after joint Secretary Amitabh Chaudhary stood disqualified owing to the Supreme Court verdict, which sacked the entire BCCI top brass last week.
Among the notable omissions, Ajinkya Rahane has been dropped from the T20 team and Pant replaces him as a batsman who will also be Dhoni’s understudy in limited overs for the time being.
“We know what Mahi is all about, he is a captain by nature, a leader from the front,” Prasad showered accolades on the outgoing captain.
Yuvraj was in splendid form during the Ranji Trophy and scored 672 runs in five games at an average of 84 with a highest score of 260 against Baroda before he took a break due to his marriage.
“We should appreciate how Yuvraj has played. He did extremely well in domestic cricket, which has been appreciated,” Prasad told mediapersons about Yuvraj, who is making a comeback nine months after the World T20 last year.
The two teams saw veteran Nehra, who underwent surgery after sustaining an injury during IPL, make a comeback. His selection indicated the dearth of quality left-arm seamers in the horizon and no one can question Nehra’s craft with the white kookaburra.
Pant identified as MSD successor, Rahane gets T20 wake-up call
n Agency
New Delhi: Rishabh Pant was “extremely hurt” when he did not make it to the India A squad last year during their tour to Australia.
But he is likely to feel much better after today’s selection in the T20 team for the series against England.
Pant’s selection is also a wake-up call for Ajinkya Rahane. The Delhi left-hander is a far more powerful striker of the ball and a busy player who can up the ante, which has been Rahane’s bane in the shortest format.
“Yes, I was hurt as I was not selected for the A tour of Australia. I had then decided that I will score as much runs possible that no one is able to ignore me,” Pant had told PTI after scoring his maiden triple hundred in Ranji Trophy. It was very difficult to ignore the prolific Roorkee boy, who scored 972 runs in Ranji Trophy at an astonishing strike-rate of 107.28 across nine games which included a triple hundred and the fastest first-class hundred in Indian cricket. His selection in the T20 team is an indication that he is being seriously looked at as Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s successor in shorter formats as Wriddhiman Saha still remains India’s first choice in Test matches.
“I feel that I am learning everyday. I have just started off my career and I need to get better. The more I will play, the better I will get. The IPL (he played for the Delhi Daredevils) certainly helped me as I got a chance to face a lot of quality bowlers. Interactions with international players like Chris Morris helped me improve my game,” the stocky boy, who became an overnight sensation after fetching 1.9 crore at IPL auction, said during an interaction on the sidelines of Delhi’s Ranji practice.
For him, his coach at Sonnet Club, Tarak Sinha, has been his mentor.
“Tarak sir is not like a father. He is my father. The Sonnet club means everything to me,” said Pant, spoken of highly by Ashish Nehra, who had kept a check on his progress since his joining the club. In fact, Sachin Tendulkar autographed a bat for him after his triple hundred against Maharashtra at the Wankhede, late last year.
Pant will be expected to also play the role of a reserve opener if Mandeep Singh is the preferred choice. If Pant can rack up a few big scores, he can put a lot of pressure on Rahane in ODIs as well. Pant’s batting prowess will always give Kohli a chance to play extra bowler.
Obviously the new selection committee will be investing in Pant as slowly and surely he will be eased into the role of a glovesman when Dhoni decides to call time on his career.