Six things we learned from India’s squad for the Champions Trophy

After weeks of “will-they-won’t they”, the Board of Control for Cricket in India finally announced the squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy in June. India will be mounting a title defence in England, having won the tournament in 2013, but for a long time, there was much uncertainty over their participation in the tournament.

An impasse over revenue sharing with the International Cricket Council meant that they missed an April 25 deadline for naming the squad. Thankfully, though better sense has prevailed.

This is the 15-member that will be on the flight to the United Kingdom:

 Virat Kohli (captain), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Hardik Pandya, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami  

And here are the six big takeaways:

1. Safety is the best policy

One look at the team for the Champions Trophy team and the standout theme is safety first. It’s a solid settled team with few surprises. Continuity is the pattern with the selectors deciding to stick with players who have performed in the last year or so with Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami making comebacks from injuries.

Perhaps, the inclusion of Manish Pandey instead of an extra spinner was a talking point but MSK Prasad, the chairman of selectors, was at pains to point that out it was solely due to the quality of India’s two spinners, Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin, that a third option hadn’t been picked.

2. Dhawan and Rohit are united, Rahane is back-up

The announcement confirmed that Shikhar Dhawan would be teaming up again with Rohit Sharma at a tournament where he has excelled in the past. Prasad also stated that Rahane will be a backup option.

But having Rahane as a back-up is a very good option to have. Despite his poor form of late in the ongoing Indian Premier League, Rahane is a multi-dimensional batsman with an outstanding track record in England. If required, he can easily replace Yuvraj Singh or Kedar Jadhav in the starting eleven if Kohli wants more stability in the middle order. A good pick.

3. Jadeja and Ashwin rule the roost

Such is the selectors’ faith in Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin that they are the only two frontline spinners in the squad. And both of them have the credentials to back that up – Jadeja, for example, was the highest wicket-taker in the 2013 Champions Trophy, played also in England.

The back-ups in the spin department will be Yuvraj Singh and Kedar Jadhav. The latter was impressive in the ODI series against New Zealand in October, but English conditions will pose a different challenge. Could India have picked a third option for variety? According to Prasad, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was considered as a “surprise package” but narrowly missed out.

4. A strong pace attack

No question marks here. A pace-bowling attack comprising Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and Hardik Pandya offers Kohli pace, control and swing. It is worth bearing in mind also that the tournament is being played early in the English summer which means the wickets could be lively.

Shami’s return to One-Day International cricket is a big bonus and India will hope he has sorted out his injury woes for now. The inclusion of Pandya, a pace-bowling all-rounder who can also hit the ball a long way, adds balance to the squad.

5. Dhoni is Dhoni

Is there anyone in Indian cricket who doesn’t feel bad for Rishabh Pant? Even, Prasad couldn’t stop singing his praises, multiple times, in the squad announcement. “Completely impressed by how he is playing,” he said. “He’s one cricketer whom we’re looking for [the] future.”

But, unfortunately, he won’t be going to the Champions Trophy right now, not even as a back-up keeper. Prasad rightly praised Dhoni’s contributions to the team, pointing out that it’s unfair to judge him only as a batsman and he still remains among the best wicket-keepers in the world. No debate there. But it seems certain that once Dhoni hangs up his boots, the selectors have zeroed in on Pant to make the big step up.

6. The fringe

Even more interesting than the squad selection announcement was the discussion that occurred about the players who were discussed but missed out and will be on standby duty during the tournament. Prasad said that visas will be arranged for them and they would be training at the National Cricket Academy, ready to fly out to England if required.

The players mentioned were Rishabh Pant, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik. Pant and Yadav have already been discussed earlier in the piece but Shardul Thakur’s inclusion in the above list indicates that the selectors are looking at the young pacer as a potential prospect.

Dinesh Karthik is obviously the back-up keeping option while Suresh Raina, despite not having the best of seasons, is still on the sidelines and remains in the fray for making a return to Team India sometime in the future.