A chance to make it to the World Cup

In what may come as a shot in the arm to Team India aspirants, a senior BCCI official recently made a statement that performance in the IPL will have a bearing on the selection for the World Cup. The announcement has provided a new lease of hope for players who are consistently struggling to find a place in the national team.

Apart from perhaps Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, no other player can take his place for granted in the World Cup team. The likes of Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Umesh Yadav, and many more, have done well in the previous IPL seasons, but haven’t been able to cement their place in Team India.

Although the selectors will keep an eye on players’ performances, former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi feels that IPL performance should not be considered for the national selection, and that success in domestic cricket is key.

Pointing out that the cash-rich T-20 league is being needlessly glorified, Bishan lashes out saying, “How can a player’s selection for a national team be assessed based on the performance in a club cricket like IPL? Duleep Trophy, Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup, Deodhar Trophy, etc., are great platforms to showcase talent,” adding, “Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja haven’t played good cricket at the domestic level in recent times, Which is why they were not being picked.”

Former batsman Arun Lal however, begs to differ. He believes that IPL has all the necessary ingredients handling pressure, form and player’s confidence to make it a good indicator for national selection.

Former left arm spinner and commentator Venkatapathy Raju states that consistency is the key to a player’s longevity, irrespective of the format.

Meanwhile, with four batsmen K.L. Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Shreyas Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane vying for the No 4 slot, a good IPL run for one of them could cement their place on the national squad.

On the other hand, for someone who has been described as ‘the best off spinner’ in contemporary cricket, it is frustrating that Ravichandran Ashwin hasn’t played a single ODI for the country since June 2017. Buzz is that Ashwin was dropped out of the short format due to Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav’s heroics. Analysing Ashwin’s case, former Indian cricketer Nikhil Chopra draws a comparison between wrist and finger spinners.

“Ravichandran Ashwin is a finger spinner. Throughout the world, wickets are becoming placid. So teams prefer wrist spinners (as against finger spinners) who can get good purchase from the wicket. I guess that’s what Kuldeep and Chahal are doing, and it is making things tougher for finger spinners,” feels Nikhil, who was also incidentally an off-spinner.

Be it because of the growing bench strength India has developed over the last few years or because of the psychological perception that the team wants to retain a ‘winning combination’, finding a place in Team India has become consistently challenging.

Venkatapathy Raju adds that an impressive performance in domestic cricket followed up by good IPL can make a player a strong contender for Team India. “Nothing can guarantee you a place in the team other than performance. You can never rely on your past laurels. Consistently performing is as important to make it to the team,” he says. Ironically, the selectors will announce the squad for the World Cup in the third week of April, which means that only the performances of the players till the first half of the IPL (when the stakes are low and the intensity of the matches is less) will be considered. How fair that assessment will be is a matter that remains to be seen.c