India vs West Indies: Why Rahul Chahar and Navdeep Saini are the right picks for India
India exited the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in the semi-final match against New Zealand. They are now all set to play against West Indies in a long tour starting from August 3.
The Selection Commitee led by Chief Selector MSK Prasad met on Sunday in Mumbai to pick the Indian squad for West Indies tour. Several players who haven’t been regularly involved with India in either T20Is or ODIs made it to the limited-overs squads as the Selection Committee looked to move on from India’s showing in the ICC World Cup 2019 and build for the future.
Senior opener Shikhar Dhawan made a comeback to India's limited-overs squad after recovering from a thumb fracture, while Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey were given opportunities in limited-overs format owing to their brilliant performance for India A. MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya were rested for the whole tour while Jasprit Bumrah was rested for one-day internationals and T20s.
Two uncapped players were added in the squad for the limited-overs format. Leg-spinner Rahul Chahar and pacer Navdeep Saini are expected to play for India for the first time in this series. Here is the brief information about both debutants and why they are the right choices for India.
Rahul Chahar
Rajasthan’s Rahul Chahar, just a few days away from turning 20, is the latest leg-spinner to break into the Indian team. Chahar got his maiden India call-up because of his consistent showings in the Indian Premier League and domestic cricket. He was selected for the three-match T20 series over Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal against West Indies.
He can bowl well in the powerplays as well as the middle overs. He maintained a brilliant economy rate in IPL 2019 and also took 13 wickets. He was also the leading wicket-taker for Rajasthan in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019, with twenty dismissals in nine matches.
Additionally, Rahul Chahar can offer much more muscle to India’s lower order than Kuldeep and Chahal. Rahul Chahar is a right pick for India as he can bowl economically and at good lengths while he can contribute with the bat too.
Apart from Rahul Chahar, Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar are the other spinners in the T20 squad.
Navdeep Saini
Navdeep Saini can clock speeds of 150 km/h regularly and with ease. His performances in the 2019 IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore saw him chosen as a net bowler after the injury of Bhuvneshwar Kumar for India in the World Cup. Saini was selected in the Indian squad for both one-day and T20 series.
Saini picked 11 wickets for RCB in IPL 2019. He bowled 141 dot balls in 13 matches while recording the second-fastest ball of the tournament (152.85 km/h). Saini was the second-highest wicket-taker for India A in the five-match unofficial ODI series. Over the years, Saini's domestic performance has been brilliant, in 2017-18, he took 34 wickets and helped the Delhi team to make it to the Ranji Trophy final.
Saini has proved himself as a better option over others, his good line and length and his speed will help him a lot in Caribbean conditions. Saini along with Khaleel Ahmed will start the bowling for India in one-day internationals and T20s.
India will kick-off their long tour with three-match T20I series, starting from August 3. The three ODIs will then follow from August 8, before the two-game Test series begins from August 22.
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