According to BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, the Indian cricket team will name the squad for the Test tour of England in almost two weeks. He spoke to The Times of India and said that it might be done on or around May 20, which is when the first IPL playoffs are to be held in Hyderabad.
The Indian team is set for 5 Tests from June 20, starting the new cycle of the World Test Championship. There is more ambiguity surrounding the team. While Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are bound to continue, it is the other spots that are still open-backing up the opening slot, pacers, vice-captains.
MSK Prasad, former chief selector, feels Arshdeep Singh, Sai Sudharsan, and Kuldeep Yadav should be in the squad. Sudharsan is having a great IPL season and has county cricket experience, which could prove useful, he said in a recent interview.
Prasad feels in-form Prasidh Krishna should be in the squad instead of Akash Deep if the selectors go with a 15-man squad in mid-May. He sees Washington Sundar taking the spin all-rounder role alongside Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep upon the retirement of R Ashwin, whom he reckons is capable of taking wickets on the faster pitches in England.
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Prasad leaves outlook of Rohit Sharma’s inclusion to the selection panel led by Ajit Agarkar. He states Sai should definitely be playing in this series, as it is the best time now with the new WTC cycle beginning.
Being selected, Rohit would be opening with Jaiswal with Sai as the backup. Prasad expects Shubman Gill to bat at three, with Kohli coming in at four again and hoping that this time Kohli will be able to better face the English pitches. He prefers Pant to serve as the keeper-batsman, while KL Rahul has shown himself well enough to be a specialist in the middle order.
Prasad feels confident in picking Jadeja, Sundar, and Kuldeep as the three spinners, with Jadeja being a definite choice and Kuldeep being a match-winner. He is not in favor of selecting Axar Patel for this series.
