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Former
chairman of selectors bats for a 26-strong squad for the India’s tour of
Australia, clubbing of senior team and 'A' side
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New Delhi(Agencies): A
mandatory 14-day quarantine period in Adelaide before the start of India's
marquee Test series against Australia might prompt the BCCI to send a jumbo
squad much like the West Indies and Pakistan in England, feels former chairman
of selectors MSK Prasad.
According to Prasad, it might
be a good idea to have at least a 26-strong squad for the tour Down Under where
both India and the 'A' team could be clubbed together for a month.
Pakistan are travelling with a
squad of 29 (including white-ball specialists) while the West Indies have 26 on
their roster in order to maintain the COVID-19 protocols in England.
"The team management and
seniors will have an opportunity to look at the youngsters who are knocking the
doors," said Prasad, who till February was selection committee head.
"In this process, you can
also monitor those players who can be the potential guys for different spots in
future," Prasad said.
A squad of 26 will ensure that
India can be divided into two groups and a warm-up game could be played during
the quarantine period.
"Since we cannot trust
the net bowlers about their exposure to COVID, it would be ideal to go with a
large contingent as we can be assured of all the players' safety as they will
be in a bio-secure environment," Prasad reasoned.
"In case someone tests
COVID positive, then the players from this contingent can be picked as they
would have served the mandatory quarantine period," he added.
Prasad opined that it will be
a healthy preparation for the main team as the first-choice batsmen will have a
wide variety of bowlers at their disposal.
"Even for our main
bowlers, they will have fresh batsmen to bowl at unlike the same bunch of first
team boys. For instance, Shreyas Iyer is very aggressive and at times can be
unorthodox. So, he might offer variety of skills which the Australian batsman
might possess,” he said.
"On the other hand,
left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed's presence will help in preparing for Mitchell
Starc's angled deliveries," Prasad added.
A good bunch of reserve fast
bowlers would be ideal as the first team bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed
Shami, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav won't get tired in the nets in the absence
of net bowlers.
The other reason to carry a
big squad is that Sunil Joshi's panel will not have a reference frame as there
would be no domestic cricket before the start of Ranji Trophy.
If there is no domestic
cricket happening then taking a large group of players will help the final
squad in terms of quality preparation leading up to the Test series, reckons
Prasad.
"Also, if IPL is going to
happen prior to this series then carrying a large contingent is better as we
need to be ready with back-ups in case somebody gets injured or is carrying the
niggles from the IPL."
But there are a few
disadvantages also and Prasad cited a couple of them.
"The only tough part that
we will be facing because of this large contingent is managing such a large
pool of players. To provide quality practise sessions to all of them will also
be a challenge," said Prasad.
The other reason is that save
for Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari – the two unsold Test players in IPL –
others will have to switch from T20 to Test mode.
"If IPL is going to
happen prior to this series then majority of these players would have played in
it and then carrying extra players might become a debatable issue,” he said.
"But let's not forget
that IPL is only a T20 tournament which may not be ideal preparation for Test
series," said Prasad. PTI
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