Return of Yuvraj, Nehra: Selection gamble may just be the tonic India need

There were quite a few surprises sprung by the selectors as they announced the ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming tour to Australia. Old horses Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra were recalled to T20 side while Suresh Raina and Bhuvneshwar Kumar faced the axe in ODIS. There were fresh faces in the form of Hardik Pandya and Brainder Sran who made it to the T20I and ODI squads. respectively. Here are three takeaways from the India squads named for the Australia tour. Old horses get a lifeline: “I don’t know what has happened. Whether it is my face, I don’t know. I’m happy that my wife likes my face,” Ashish Nehra said in an interview to ESPNCricinfo six months ago . He was still finding answers as to what exactly he did wrong to be ignored by the selectors for four long years. Nehra’s last appearance in an Indian jersey was in 2011 semi-final against Pakistan where he ended with 2/33 from 10 overs. Unfortunately, a finger injury kept him out of the side for the final against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and then, like that, he was gone. [caption id=“attachment_2209490” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Ashish Nehra. BCCI[/caption] As the selectors read out his name while announcing the T20 squad for Australia, the media were caught with surprise. If the selectors had him in mind, they didn’t give out even an inkling. Nehra’s IPL performances, it would seem, tilted the balance in his favour. He was the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the last edition with 22 wickets at 20.40 (best average by a CSK bowler) including five three-wicket hauls and three Man of the Match awards. He was impressive with the new ball as well as in the death and used the yorker to good effect. Nehra’s biggest problem had always been his control (or the lack of it) but in the IPL last season, he showed that he is a much improved bowler. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar failing to make the cut, MS Dhoni could turn to Nehra as the go-to bowler in the death overs. Mohammad Shami could also provide much-needed relief. “Nehra has been discussed in the previous meetings as well. He has been consistent in the T20 format. This is the time to see whether he can deliver, rather than waiting for World T20. He will be useful in this format,” selection committee chairman Sandip Patil said after the selection meeting. At 36 years and 236 days, time isn’t on Nehra’s but this is his chance to show the selectors what they missed out on in the last four years. While not many yearned for the left-arm pacer’s selection, it was the exact opposite with another stalwart making his comeback to the national side — Yuvraj Singh. Every time India failed to perform or Yuvraj did well in patches, clamours grew for his reinstatement. Yuvraj’s last outing in India colours was a disastrous one where he limped to a 21-ball 11 against Sri Lanka in the 2014 World T20 final on a horror night in Bangladesh. Since then he has turned it around ride but his current performances in the on-going Vijay Hazare Trophy has given him a new lease of life. Showing the glimpses of old Yuvraj, he’s amassed 341 runs from five matches at 85.25 and strike rate of 103.64. Yuvraj, Man of the Series in the 2011 World Cup, brings a different dimension to the T20I squad. With India short on clean hitters, Yuvraj can happily step in. His part-timers can be more than handy too. In the last couple of years, India has been in search of a good finisher with Dhoni and Raina failing to recreate their magic. Yuvraj could just be the answer to India’s batting issues at the death. “Yuvi is special and any captain is happy to have him back. We can’t guarantee him place but chance to perform will be given,” Patil said. Yuvraj will be looking to make most of the opportunities and have a shot at redemption. Selectors give new hope to out-of-favour players: Going by the selections trends of late, the fear of ‘My career might be all but over’ among out-of-favour players might have eased out a little bit. It was Harbhajan Singh’s selection for Bangladesh Test that surprised everyone as the off-spinner was handed a comeback to international cricket after almost two years, the 35-year-old was then included in the ODI squad after four years when he was selected for the Zimbabwe tour this year. Then came the surprise selection of 32-year old Amit Mishra who was recalled to the Test side after four years. [caption id=“attachment_2391610” align=“alignright” width=“380”] File picture of Manish Pandey (R). AP[/caption] “We want performers and we are not looking at the age factor. If someone is performing well, then we are definitely going to look at them,” Patil had told TOI in June this year. The selection of Yuvraj and Nehra gives a belief to the out-of-favour players that they have a chance of making a comeback unlike few years ago. There has been good planning behind the selections of late. They took Harbhajan to Bangladesh because Bangladesh possessed majority left-handers in their line-up. Mishra was selected for Sri Lanka to provide the variety on turning tracks and now they have selected a good mix of youth and experience along with variety. Non-performers have been shown the door despite their reputation which was witnessed when they dropped Ravindra Jadeja when he was horribly out of form and now they have dropped both Suresh Raina and Bhuvneshwar Kumar from the ODI squad. Domestic performances have been considered and that has led to the selections of Manish Pandey and Rishi Dhawan. The selectors have also added spark to the squad with the inclusion of all-rounder Hardik Pandya who shot to limelight playing for Mumbai Indians in the 2015 IPL and the little known left-arm seamer Brainder Sran. The need of variety was also taken into account as well as India’s problem with death batting. “We felt Indian team in batting and bowling was looking very much predictable,” he said. “So we wanted to have some variations, and that is why we have picked a player in our batting order [Pandey] and a player in the bowling department [Sran] also,” Patil said. “The batting ability of someone like Rishi Dhawan will also come in handy. With [Ravichandran] Ashwin and Bhaji [Harbhajan Singh] there already, it becomes a strong No.7, 8 and 9,” Patil added. Yuvraj had echoed Patil’s sentiments in a chat with Firstpost. “The squad should always be a mix of experience and youth. That lends balance,” Yuvraj said. “A player doing well should be considered, no matter what his age is. If you see the Australian squad, there are people making their debut after 30. I am not saying we have to follow the Australian model but if a player is in good form, age should not matter.” The likes of Shreyas Iyer and Shardul Thakur, who have been consistently doing well for Mumbai in domestic arena, might have missed out but going by the trend, their call-up doesn’t seem far away if they keep on performing in the same consistent manner. Shami, Jadeja may provide much-needed stability: Jadeja’s career has been a roller-coaster ride, but every time he gets dropped, he’s returned stronger. After going through a long lean patch, Jadeja was dropped from Tests and eventually from ODIs. However, on the back on some stellar all-round performances in domestic cricket for Saurashtra, he barged into the Test squad after 14 months and straightaway created an impact with crucial performances with bat and ball. He’s now been recalled to the limited-over side after a gap of six months and he would now be looking to redeem himself in the shorter formats of the game. [caption id=“attachment_2304514” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File picture of Ravindra Jadeja. AFP[/caption] Jadeja last played in ODIs in the series against Bangladesh in June this year where he ended with just one wicket from two matches and had the worst average of all Indian bowlers — 76. In the last two years (Since December 1, 2013), he’s averaged a poor 40.30 in ODIS, a mediocre 29.15 in T20Is and his batting average has considerably dropped in the last one year, he averages 16.14 from eight innings at 16.14 in ODIs. Jadeja has been the second-highest run-getter for India at No.7 in ODIs — 1312 at 30.15 with six fifties. India has been having problems with that position for quite some time now. This is Jadeja’s chance to seal the ODI berth for good. Another player making a return to the side is Mohammad Shami who brings stability to the bowling department. Shami ended with the best average by an India bowler in the 2015 World Cup — 17.29 and as India’s second-highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets. The hallmark of his bowling on the Australian pitches in the World Cup was his clever length variations, sharp bouncers and bowling at the death. He exerts a decent amount of control and can reverse the ball at good pace. Considering his success on Australian pitches, he can be a lethal weapon for Dhoni in the pace department. Making a comeback after a long injury lay-off can be difficult. Shami has bowled 18 overs and picked up three wickets from two matches for Uttar Pradesh in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy so far. India have struggled to have a settled pace bowling attack for a while and the return of Shami might just bring about the stability.