5 surprising selection choices in India's World Test Championship final squad

The long-awaited India’s World Test Championship final squad is here. Team India, after defeating the mighty Aussies and crushing the English squad, has reached the final of the inaugural WTC. Captain Kohli will be looking forward to lifting the first WTC trophy and the selectors have ensured that the squad has a proper mixture of experience and youth. The selectors have decided to give another chance to the underperformers. 

As usual, Virat Kohli will be leading the side with Ajinkya Rahane being his deputy. Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Mayank Agarwal are the three openers who will be included in the squad. Adding on, Hanuma Vihari, who has been spending time at the County Championship, has retained his place in the squad. Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin are the all-rounders. 

The bowling department will be headed by Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami. Adding on, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur , and Umesh Yadav are also included in the squad. Multiple standby players might get a chance if there is any injury to a team member. Well, this time, the selection committee has come up with some surprises. Let us have a look at those:

5. Prasidh Krishna’s selection

Prasidh Krishna’s pace enabled him to get into the national squad. He made his debut during the home series against England. Although he managed to pick up some wickets, his economy rate was on the higher side. In three games, Krishna bowled at an economy of 6.91. 

During the first half of the IPL, Krishna underperformed. With 8 wickets in 7 games, he had an economy of 9.16. The fact that he has been conceding runs at a poor economy rate shows that his consistency is not up to the mark. Poor line and length will enable any batsman in the world to put away bad deliveries. 

As India gets ready to face the Kiwis, the selection of Krishna will spark some questions. Is he the perfect bowler for the conditions? Should he play in the final? Well, there is a big uncertainty about how things work at the Test match level. No one had predicted that Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj would be the leaders of our pace attack in Australia.

4. Arzan Nagwaswalla’s inclusion

Arzan Nagwaswalla is one of the newest members of the standby players list. Well, it has been a good couple of years for the bowler. During the 2018-2019 Ranji Trophy season, he made headlines after picking a five-wicket haul against Mumbai. As Test cricket throws some tough challenges for cricketers, Arzan, if lucky, could find himself bowling to the best batsman in the world. 

The left-arm pacer can bowl at proper lines and lengths with consistency. In 16 First-Class matches, he has picked 62 wickets so far. An economy of 3.02 shows that he has the patience to wait for the batsman to commit a mistake. Well, it will be very interesting to see how he bowls if he makes it to the squad.

But, the reality is, there is a small possibility for Arzan to make his debut during the English tour. Standby players are often not required unless there are no senior players available. But, cricket is well known to throw surprises to the fans and Arzan’s selection is another example. After BCCI announced the squad, his inclusion will make him popular for sure. 

3. No Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya has been the match-winner for any squad he plays. Being one of the cleanest strikers of the cricket ball, his presence makes any middle-order strong. For Team India, he has been one of the finishers after MS Dhoni decided to stop playing international cricket. Now, Pandya has the responsibility to accelerate and destroy bowling attacks for the team. 

But, he has been unable to perform consistently in the toughest format of the game. In 11 matches, Pandya has scored just a single century. Adding on, he has been unable to contribute with the ball. The fitness issues have hampered his Test career. 

However, as the BCCI has decided to give another chance to the underperformers, the fans were expecting that Pandya should have been given another chance too. During the last tour to England, he picked 5/28, which helped India to gain control in that match. He can’t bowl at an express pace, but he can surely trouble the batsman with swinging deliveries. 

2. No Prithvi Shaw

Probably, Prithvi Shaw is in the form of his life. After a horrible Test series against Australia, he was dropped from the squad. As his flaws were exposed, a minor adjustment enabled Shaw to smash 827 runs in nine games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Adding on, his current IPL form should have been a plus point for his chances to make it to the squad. 

Shubman Gill has been out of form since the Test series against England. He has not been able to score consistently and his form might become a huge problem for the lineup. Playing Jimmy Anderson under English conditions is a tough challenge. During the first half of the 2021 edition of the IPL, Shaw was the best batsman.

Well, his exclusion will spark some questions. On his debut, he was flawless and he scored a magnificent century. But, since his form dropped, he had to make way for Gill. Currently, he has played just 5 Test matches with an average of 43.37.

1. No Bhuvneshwar Kumar

“Swing” is a word one would associate Bhuvneshwar Kumar with. He might not have the express pace to trouble the batsman, but his ability to swing the ball is an asset for any team under English conditions. Kumar has been successful in England. His best bowling figures of 6/82 helped India to put England under pressure at Lord’s in 2014. 

But, injuries have hampered his career significantly. A bowler who made his Test debut in 2013 has only played 21 Test matches is a sad story. Although he has excelled in ODIs, his total appearances in Test matches are low. But, even after playing 21 games, he has picked 63 wickets. Adding on, he has an excellent economy rate of 2.95, which means he does not give away runs easily. 

However, with Siraj and Umesh in the squad, it is quite difficult for Kumar to get into the playing eleven. With the bat, he can contribute as his Test batting average is 22.08, which is not bad for a tail-ender. But, Shardul’s heroics have overshadowed his contribution with the bat and ball in the toughest format of the game.