T20 World Cup: Shreyas Iyer likely to be promoted to main squad – The recent form of Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav in the IPL 2021 has raised concerns amongst selectors. While BCCI wants to keep itself separate from the selection process, the Mumbai Indians trio’s dip in form weeks before the T20 World Cup is being closely monitored and promoting Shreyas Iyer to the main squad cannot be ruled out.
Mumbai Indians with its title run in IPL 2020 made a huge impact amongst selectors’ minds and it saw Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan (T20I & ODI) and Rahul Chahar (ODI) make their India debuts. The trio also made it to the T20 World Cup squad. But it is the IPL 2021 Phase 2 that saw the four Mumbai Indians players struggle with their form. InsideSport has learnt that Shreyas Iyer is being monitored as an option for Ishan Kishan but Hardik Pandya remains untouchable at the moment.
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“Yes, it is a bit of a concern but we still have few matches left in IPL to get them back in form. Hopefully, they will. Suryakumar has been amongst runs for India so he is not a big concern at the moment. Ishan Kishan too did well in Sri Lanka. Virat also spoke to him on Sunday and let’s see how it goes,” a BCCI source told InsideSport on Monday.
T20 World Cup: Why are forms of Mumbai Indians trio concerning?
- Ishan Kishan has managed 11, 14 and 9 in IPL in UAE and has averaged 13.37 in the entire IPL this time. Last season, Kishan scored 516 runs at an average of 57.33.
- Suryakumar Yadav has seen a dip in form in the IPL. In the last three innings, he has scored 3, 5 and 8. In IPL 2021, he has averaged 18.90.
- Hardik Pandya’s fitness is questionable and has been out of form for some time. In IPL 2021, he hasn’t bowled so far and has averaged a terrible 7.85 in eight innings with the highest score of 16.
- Rahul Chahar did well in the first phase but has struggled in Phase 2, managing just one wicket in three matches and going for 33 and 34 in the other two.
“We have Shreyas Iyer as the backup, if there are any concerns, he could be added. But it’s too early to say anything. Ishan Kishan is an important player and so are Suryakumar and others. There is no point speculating,” the BCCI source told InsideSport.
T20 World Cup: Selectors, BCCI concerned about Mumbai Indians trio’s form in IPL 2021, Shreyas Iyer likely to be promoted to main squad
T20 World Cup: As for Hardik Pandya, the puzzle continues over his fitness. He hasn’t bowled in IPL 2021 and has batted poorly. In Sri Lanka, he looked sluggish and didn’t bowl the full quota in the ODIs. With the bat, he had a poor run, scoring 19 runs in two innings and bagged just two wickets at an economy rate of 6.94. In the T20Is, he scored 10 and bagged one wicket with an economy rate of 8.50 in two overs.
The task to manage his workload and get him fit for the T20 World Cup is on Mumbai Indians and Hardik Pandya missing two matches is part of the plan. But what MI or BCCI cannot do is get him back in the form. But he remains untouchable in India’s limited-overs squad. There is no backup at the moment with Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur yet to prove their batting skills in the T20s.
“Hardik is recovering and Mumbai Indians have managed him well. We will see how it goes. He is bowling at the nets, so that’s a good sign. Rohit is there, so he knows better how to handle him. You are talking about Hardik and there is no backup at the moment. Shardul and Deepak are good options but they are yet to prove as regular all-round options in T20s. So, Hardik remains the best all-rounder,” the BCCI source told InsideSport.
T20 World Cup: The BCCI although is keeping a tab on the players’ forms and fitness, the Sourav Ganguly-led board doesn’t want to interfere in the selection process. The officials are keeping their fingers crossed on getting them back in form ahead of the T20 World Cup. While Yuzvendra Chahal hasn’t been discussed despite a fine show, a senior BCCI official hinted that Shreyas Iyer is likely to be included with the axe falling on Ishan Kishan.
“Selectors have given us a team and that is very good on paper. Players go through such phases. Virat wasn’t getting runs but he has scored two back-to-back 50s. So, we will see how to go about it after IPL. Selectors will take a call accordingly. There are three players on standby and the team management will take a call accordingly. I don’t want to say much about the selection process,” the official told InsideSport.
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