ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 is hardly 2 months away and the Indian men’s cricket team is struggling to find a perfect combination to play with. Injuries and some surprising selections for the Asia Cup 2023, can prove a major setback for Indian World Cup dreams. Indian Skipper Rohit Sharma’s latest statement on playing Ravichandran Ashwin over India’s white-ball specialist Yuzvendra Chahal, fueled the debate for the team selection. Perhaps the selection panel & management are keen to include Ravichandran Ashwin for his batting prowess
By going with the trends, Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav will likely be the top contender for the spin attack while left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel will support Kuldeep. In a recent interview captain Rohit Sharma indicates that the sly spinner Ravichandran Ashwin might get a chance over Chahal as the fourth spinner in the squad.
Why is there so much favoritism for Ashwin ahead of the ICC tourney?
This ignorance towards former RCB’s stalwart Yuzvendra Chahal is not something new, as we have seen it a year before the ICC T20 World Cup last year. Ravichandran Ashwin’s sudden selection in the team before the T20 World Cup 2021 even though he was absent from the team since the 2019 World Cup. The ghosts of past problems started to haunt Men in Blue again. If Skipper or team management wanted any player in the team, at least he had given a consistent run before calling them straight to the World Cups.
Beginning of the end of the Indian Domestic Circuit?
Indian Domestic circuit which was pioneered by legends like Ranjit Singh, Vijay Merchant, and CK Naidu is now in a moribund state as the performing players did not get chances in the teams because the sole criteria for the selection is how well they play IPL. Players like Sarfaraz Khan, Narayan Jagadeesan, and Yash Dhull who had outstanding limits over domestic form are not even considered for the team.
Who is on the losing side?
It is said that a team’s performance depends on the right combination, especially in a sport like cricket, where combination and condition play a major role, Indian think tanks will have to rethink their decisions. As they are not the ones who faced the loss of it, BCCI is the gold mine of International cricket. Broadcasters and frantic fans are the ones who suffered a major money loss and heartbreak respectively after Men in Blue’s poor performance.