ODI team selection poses difficulty for selectors

The Indian ODI Team has struggled for settled middle over after the 2015 World Cup. Having lost the last two ODI series against South Africa and Australia, Indian selectors will have some difficulty to find the right batting lineup when they pick the squad for home series against New Zealand .

Options available to the selectors

The new selection panel which has already faced criticism for its lack of experience in international cricket, will have to find an opener to partner Rohit Sharma . While Dhawan is almost certain to miss out on the ODI series, Rahul is also doubtful .

The selectors don’t have many options in this regard. According to sources close to the selection panel, the panel could call Punjab’s Mandeep Singh into the team. The previous selection committee invested heavily in Nair and Mayank Agarwal. Agarwal has been scoring consistently for India ‘A’ over the past one year . “It could be a toss-up between Mandeep and Agarwal. Nair could also sneak in.”,said the source .

Suresh Raina is unlikely to come back as Manish Pandey is certain to retain his slot in MS Dhoni’s team. The bowling unit is likely to be the same. It will be interesting to see if the selectors opt for Seam-bowling allrounder in Binny or an extra spinner.

The first ODI against New Zealand is on October 16 in Dharamsala.