The technically sound Mumbaikar is likely to make the 15-member squad for the home series against the West Indies next month.
Ajinkya Rahane is set to go places. Indications from the selection committee are that the Mumbai opener is set for Test promotion. The 23-year-old batsman is likely to be included in the India squad for the Test series against the West Indies starting next month. This means that Rahane will, in all probability, be on the plane to Australia as well.
When the selectors meet in Kolkata on October 28, there will be jostle for places in the Test squad as most of the seniors are likely to return. And yet, Rahane is expected to make the grade.
“He looks good and we need to balance the squad with youngsters and seniors,” said a selection committee source. “I see him in the 15-member squad surely if not in the playing XI straightaway,” the source remarked.
Who Rahane will replace is an interesting question, but the selectors seem to have run out of patience with Suresh Raina.
The thinking in the selection committee is to pick a player for the West Indies series keeping the Australian tour in mind. The selectors are looking for players with solid technique for the testing tour Down Under. And Raina, who has struggled to negotiate the short ball, may not fit the bill.
Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman are expected to return. The fitness status of Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag should be known in a couple of days.
How different the look of the bowling attack will be is yet to be known but Varun Aaron’s performance at the Wankhede on Sunday is certain to force the selectors to revisit their gameplan.
But sources say the real worry is not in the pace department. Kris Srikkanth & Co are believed to be wracking their brains overs the look of the spin department. Conventional wisdom may demand the recall of Harbhajan Singh, but the selectors seem to think differently. Unless MS Dhoni puts his foot down, Harbhajan, a veteran of 98 Tests, may have to wait longer for his 100th Test appearance.
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