[India] - Asia Cup: Team India looking for clarity and consistency

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
As selectors pick Asia Cup team, it will set tone for India's bid to find a core for World CupNEW DELHI: Seldom has there been a selection
meeting for an Indian team that has generated as much anticipation as the one slated to happen here on Monday afternoon.As chief selector
Ajit Agarkarsits down for only his second meeting on the job, he will have to find a way to clear confusion and bring consistency in the
ranks as the selectors pick the squad for the upcoming Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.This team will in all probability be the template
team for the ODI World Cup due to start in India in October.Tough fitness callsOver the last one year, the ODI team under Rohit Sharma and
head coach Rahul Dravid has been hamstrung by injuries to key players like KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh
Krishna.While Bumrah and Krishna are currently playing a T20I series in Ireland, Rahul and Iyer's fitness reports have kept Indian cricket
on the edge for a while now.The call that the selectors need to take is that if they are willing to punt on players who have played little
cricket in the last five months
The general consensus is that the board doesn't want to repeat what happened with Bumrah last year when he was rushed back for a series just
ahead of the T20 World Cup with disastrous consequences.BCCI secretary Jay Shah last month had said no player will directly be picked for
the World Cup if he hasn't proved his fitness prior to the tournament.Need for consistencyIndia's white-ball teams have been plagued with
inconsistent selections in the last two years leading to uneven performances
The biggest challenge for the selectors, Rohit and Dravid is to find consistency in selection in the next two assignments prior to the World
Cup given there are so many players returning from serious injuries."The idea is to have consistency in selection for Asia Cup so that the
core of the team is ready for the World Cup
But there have to be options ready if any of the senior players don't make it
Hence, there could be two extra players picked for the Asia Cup," a BCCI source told TOI
It will also be debated who the vice-captain will be given the board is not entirely happy with the way Hardik Pandya has led the T20I
team.The middle muddleWith uncertainty over Rahul, Iyer and Pant, India's struggle to find a steady middle-order has got trickier
TOI understands that the team is keen to have a left-handed option in the top-order
Rahul's fitness to be on the field for 50 overs is yet to be determined
Wicket-keeping could also be pushing his body.Ishan Kishan seems to be the other obvious wicket-keeping option
But the team management would want him to also adapt to bat in the middle overs
It's likely that the selectors and the team management won't mind persisting with Suryakumar Yadav to be an impact option in the
middle-order.Extra pacer or seam-bowling allrounder?There is likely to be a debate on having Krishna or a seam-bowling allrounder in Shardul
Thakur
India's batting depth in white-ball cricket has been questionable for some time now
But the team management had identified Krishna as a longer format prospect after Bumrah and Mohammad Shami due to his extra height which
could be disconcerting for batters.