Selectors faced with tough choices ahead of Zim Tour

With yet another rigorous season of non-stop cricket set to culminate with the conclusion of the Indian Premier League on Sunday, the selectors will be in a quandary over whether to give a break to the senior players in the squad for the short series.

With Dhoni having retired from Tests and India set to play very few limited overs internationals in the coming season, it will be interesting to see if the selectors persist with the captain for a tour that holds little significance.

Towards the fag end of his four-year stint as chairman of the national selection panel, Sandeep Patil along with his four colleagues, will have plenty to ponder on Monday while finalising India’s squad for the next month’s limited-overs series in Zimbabwe.

With yet another rigorous season of non-stop cricket set to culminate with the conclusion of the Indian Premier League on Sunday, the selectors will be in a quandary over whether to give a break to the senior players in the squad for the short series, including three ODIs and as many Twenty20 internationals.

Sportstar understands that none of the India regulars had made themselves unavailable for the tour against Zimbabwe till Sunday evening. If status quo remains when the new BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke convenes the meeting at the BCCI headquarters on Monday afternoon, Patil and Co. will have to decide on whether to try young blood or stick to the tried and tested players.

The big question will obviously be Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s selection. With Dhoni having retired from Tests and India set to play very few limited overs internationals in the coming season, it will be interesting to see if the selectors persist with the captain for a tour that holds little significance.

It will also be interesting to see if the selectors reward consistent performers in the domestic season or reward those who have impressed during the IPL. While Karun Nair has made a strong case by backing his big scores in domestic cricket with an excellent IPL outing, leggie Yuzvendra Chahal, allrounder Krunal Pandya and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant have also fared consistently for their respective IPL outfits.