Prasad cleared all doubts that were unanswered during the World Cup about a middle-order batsman Rishabh Pant sent as replacement for an injured opener Shikhar Dhawan
The careers of talented batsmen like Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer, to name just a few, have been chequered, to say the least. They have been in and out of the Indian limited-overs team eventually to be dropped altogether.
Being part of the Indian team in the build up to the ICC Cricket World Cup, Pandey and Iyer had only themselves to blame for not figuring in the set up when it came to the final stretch of the 13 ODIs just before the World Cup.
Either they have not grabbed the opportunities given to them or they have not fulfilled their roles expected of them, like, in the case of Pandey, finishing matches.
Perhaps, the duo has not been clear in what was expected of them.
That should not be the case anymore. Pandey and Iyer, based on their strong performances for India 'A' and IPL, have been recalled to the T20I and ODI leg of the upcoming tour of the West Indies. They will now shore up the Indian middle-order that was shaky in the World Cup.
Pandey and Iyer are the two frontline batsmen joining the other established seniors that should solve the middle-order puzzle that the Indian team has been trying to solve for a while.
Unlike in the past, the two will be given a long run, assured chief selector MSK Prasad. "I am sure you have seen by the way we have selected the team that we are looking ahead," Prasad said.
Also looking ahead, the selectors have roped in Delhi speedster Navdeep Saini, who was assisting the World Cup team in England as a net bowler and is currently doing duty for India 'A' in the West Indies.
Mayank Agarwal, who was sent as a replacement for the injured Vijay Shankar for the World Cup, does not figure in the 15-man ODI squad, making clear that the Karnataka opener is looked at only as a Test batsman.
Prasad cleared all doubts that were unanswered during the World Cup about a middle-order batsman Rishabh Pant sent as replacement for an injured opener Shikhar Dhawan, and an opening batsman Agarwal filling in the vacancy of No. 4 Shankar.
Prasad explained: "When Shikhar Dhawan got injured, we had already third opener in KL Rahul. At that juncture, after the two-three matches, once he was injured, we didn't have a left-hander at the top. Since KL Rahul was going to open the innings, the team management had requested for a left-hander and we had no other choice but Rishabh Pant, and we were very, very clear on that.
"When Shankar was injured, I am sure all of you would have seen, in the game against England, when Rahul was trying for a catch, he literally had a big fall on the boundary line and he didn't take the field for the rest of the innings.
"So there was a medical emergency at that stage whether he will continue or not (in the World Cup). There was so much of worry factor.
"At that juncture a mail was written, a written communication was given to us that we need a back-up opener. We worked out on certain permutations and we looked at some of the openers. Some were not in form, the others were injured. So that's when we went to Mayank Agarwal. So it is very, very clear, there is no confusion on this," Prasad added.
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 "Shreyas Iyer (left) and Manish Pandey")
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