Vijay Hazare Trophy: India are set to play the Champions Trophy in less than eight weeks and need a second wicketkeeper and key paceman to complement Rishabh Pant, an excellent wrist spinner, during the upcoming National ODI Championship for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which begins across the country on Saturday. Everyone’s eyes will be on the form of the bowlers. Although the main players of the 50-over team are currently playing for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, the national competition has its own importance.
Some stars like Baroda all-rounder Hardik Pandya will get significant playing time in this. Arshdeep Singh of Punjab, Avesh Khan of Madhya Pradesh, Khalil Ahmed of Rajasthan, Mukesh Kumar of Bengal, Yash Dayal of Uttar Pradesh would also like to join the bowling group, which if everything goes well, it is expected that Jasprit Bumrah will take charge.
Kuldeep Yadav’s prolonged ‘rehabilitation’ at the NCA (National Cricket Academy) due to a ‘groin’ injury may force the selection committee to look for a good option along with Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.
Chakraborty and Gujarat’s Ravi Bishnoi are two wrist spinners who performed very well in the T20 International series against South Africa. Bishnoi played his only ODI in 2022 against South Africa and Kuldeep’s absence has given him an opportunity to stake his claim in the 50-over team.
Chakraborty, in his second comeback to international cricket, has taken 17 wickets in his last seven T20 Internationals, out of which 12 wickets have come in batting-friendly conditions in South Africa. Chakraborty is expected to start in the match against Chandigarh in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Although he has played only 17 List A matches, taking 41 wickets at an economy rate of 4.25 is commendable.
Googly bowler Bishnoi has played 25 List A matches in which he has taken 36 wickets at 5.25 runs per over. There is also a question whether Shreyas Iyer, who has scored an average of more than 47 runs in 62 ODIs, can make a place in the team for the Champions Trophy. Or will he face the pressure of a challenge from a player like Tilak Verma, who has a List A average of more than 52 and has scored five centuries in 29 matches. Tilak scored 52 runs in his last ODI innings in South Africa in 2023.
The selection committee will also keep an eye on Tilak’s performance for Hyderabad and Iyer, who won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Mumbai, will also want to play a good innings. If Mohammed Siraj is fit, he can also be selected in the team along with Bumrah, while either Akash Deep and Harshit Rana can make a place in the team.
This creates space for one or two more fast bowlers and Arshdeep, Dayal, Mukesh will try to prove themselves and make it to the last 15. As far as Mohammed Shami is concerned, it seems that his focus has shifted to IPL. He will play Bengal’s second match in Hyderabad and a good performance can bring him back in the eyes of the selectors.
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