Jadeja in line for ODI recall as Axar exits for Asian Games — Pandya waits on fitness, Pant eyes return

NEW DELHI — India's national selectors face a heady Wednesday as they sit down to pick the ODI squad for the three-match home series against the West Indies, with most first-choice ODI players busy at the Asian Games and a host of others nursing injuries.

Few decisions on the table carry more weight than the fate of Ravindra Jadeja. TOI understands the selectors are expected to spend a lot of time discussing whether they want to bring the allrounder back, with Axar Patel heading to Asian Games duty. Although the team management and selectors had wanted to move on from Jadeja, the unavailability of Axar and the injury to Harsh Dubey have changed the arithmetic.

"Jadeja's bowling in white-ball cricket hasn't been up to the mark for a while now. Dubey was identified as Axar's backup. The other spin-bowling allrounder, Washington Sundar, too will be at the Asian Games. The team management wants an established batter in the middle order," a BCCI source told TOI.

Pandya won't be rushed

Hardik Pandya presents a trickier call still. The Centre of Excellence (CoE) has shared a report stating the star allrounder should be fit for competitive cricket from September 20, and the selectors have named him in the India 'A' team for the 50-over series against Australia 'A', which starts on October 6. Yet TOI has learnt that Pandya himself does not want to rush back to international cricket until he is absolutely convinced about his fitness — the kind that allows him to bowl a full ten overs in a match.

With KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya's availability also a factor in deciding the second wicketkeeper, the depth of bowling allrounders remains a worry. Both Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shivam Dube were flagged as being on Japan duty in the original plan, though Nitish has since been withdrawn from the Asian Games contingent and added to the ODI fold. Suryansh Shedge, meanwhile, is nursing an injury.

Pant's lifeline

With Ishan Kishan at the Asian Games, the selectors are keen to give Rishabh Pant another go in the ODI format — but the wicketkeeper faces competition from Dhruv Jurel.

"The selectors feel that Pant has the game against pace and bounce which can be useful in South Africa. He is more experienced than Jurel," the source said.

Series schedule taking shape

The 15-member Shubman Gill-captained side has been asked to assemble in Trivandrum on September 23, four days before the opening ODI on September 27. The tourists then move to Guwahati (September 30) and New Chandigarh (October 3), before the five-match T20I series starts in Lucknow on October 6.