5 takeaways from India's World T20 squad announcement
The much-awaited announcement of India’s squad for the Asia Cup and the subsequent ICC World Twenty20 has been made. While the selectors have primarily stuck with the same unit that beat Australia 3-0 on their own soil, there has been a bit of chopping and changing.This includes the surprise inclusion of a couple of unlikely players and a few exclusions that may be a little tough to justify. Apart from this, a number of other points also surfaced out of India’s squad selection for the two back-to-back high-profile T20I tournaments.Here are 5 important takeaways from the squad announcement.
#1 Ajinkya Rahane trumping Manish Pandey
It was always going to be a toss-up between Ajinkya Rahane and Manish Pandey in the squad for the Asia Cup and the World Twenty20 and that is exactly how it panned out. Rahane turned out to be the preferred candidate, a decision which was quite justifiable at the end of it all.
The Mumbai batsman has become one of the core members of the Indian team over the past few years, particularly in the longest format. Rahane has played the floater role to perfection in India’s ODI batting line-up and it was about time he got his due in T20 cricket.
Manish Pandey deserves every bit to be in the squad too, but certainly not at the cost of Ajinkya Rahane.