Dilip Vengsarkar believes poor IPL form will not hamper India's chances in CT 2017

Former Indian cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar has recently expressed his satisfaction over the chosen Indian contingent for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. Vengsarkar put an end to all questions revolving around the players selected and the ones who missed out. The former selector has tried to defend the selections in a recent conversation with India Today.

He remarked that the likes of Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina have excelled in the ongoing edition of the IPL. However, that tells nothing about their current run of form in the longer formats. A lot of speculations were made that Gambhir and young batsman Rishabh Pant could make the cut in the Indian team for the ICC mega event. However, neither of the two were picked.

Talking about Rishabh Pant, Dilip Vengsarkar reiterated that T20 cricket is very different from the 50 overs cricket. There are different skillsets needed to excel in different formats of the game. Hence, the selectors would want to see more of Pant in longer formats before giving him a ticket to the Indian team. Raina and Pant have been named in the standby list for the tournament.

“If you look at Gambhir and Raina they have got runs in IPL. But I don’t know about their 50 overs form. Besides you can only pick 15 players,” quoted Dilip Vengsarkar.

“In case of Rishabh Pant, I haven’t seen him bat in person. But T20 and longer formats are different. In ODI cricket, there are factors like ability to play the short ball to look also. So one has to wait and see,” he added.

On the contrary, the players who have picked in the Indian squad have not been in the best of forms this season. However, the former cricketer is unfazed about it. He believes that the IPL form will have no impact on the chances of the national side in the Champions Trophy whatsoever.

“It does not worry me. IPL is a different format where you have to attack from the beginning. In 50 overs you have more time to settle down for a longer innings. They will have enough time to get into the groove,” remarked Vengsarkar.

Lastly, he opined that the team could have picked an extra bowler in the squad. He refused to take any names. For the moment, Shardul Thakur is in the standby list of the team. Dilip Vengsarkar also expressed his happiness over the inclusion of Hardik Pandya in the squad. He believes Pandya could be a lethal weapon in English conditions.

“I could have picked another extra bowler in place of two batting reserves. I can’t name one now. I am glad Pandya has been chosen. Because he could be very useful in English conditions in June,” he conceded.