Suryansh Shedge in contention for maiden India ODI call-up for New Zealand tour
Mumbai seam-bowling all-rounder Suryansh Shedge has emerged as a strong contender for a maiden India ODI call-up after impressive displays in the recently-concluded List A series against Australia A in Puducherry, the development coming as India prepare to start a marathon tour with T20Is from October 22 and an ODI series that begins on November 4 in Auckland.
The 23-year-old, who has three T20 Internationals for India from England, returned to competitive cricket following a hamstring injury and made notable contributions with both bat and ball in the unofficial one-day matches. In the opening game he took four wickets with his seam bowling, and in the final one-dayer he scored 66 in a winning cause. T20 cricket has been Shedge's strongest format, and selectors have noticed a marked improvement in his bowling.
A BCCI source outlined the selection dynamics, saying: "Shedge has a very high chance of making it to the ODI squad simply because Nitish Kumar Reddy will have an important role to play in the Test series as the fourth seamer and a floater in the lower order. Hence, Reddy won't play all the ODIs as he has to prepare for the red-ball games," a BCCI source told PTI. Interim selection committee chairman Pragyan Ojha and his colleagues are understood to have taken Shedge's enhanced seam work into account.
India's management is assessing options partly because of Hardik Pandya's prolonged absence from competitive cricket due to a spate of injuries, prompting a search for potent alternatives in the all-round department. Nitish Kumar Reddy, while pegged as the only option for the Test matches, has had a history of injury issues in his short career, which factors into plans for rotating players between formats.
Scheduling on the tour adds selection pressure: five ODIs will follow five T20Is on the tour that begins October 22, with the ODI rubber starting on November 4 in Auckland and the fifth ODI scheduled for Tauranga on November 15. The first Test is set to begin in Wellington on November 19, and November 16 is the team’s travel day, leaving just two practice sessions on November 17 and 18 before the red-ball assignment.
That compressed window, driven in part by New Zealand Cricket's request to the BCCI to add a couple of extra ODIs, has reduced preparation time for the World Test Championship series and contributed to the selection committee delaying the ODI squad announcement. The committee may opt for an expanded 50-over contingent to relieve Test players of ODI duties, a scenario that would increase Shedge's chances given the scarcity of seam-bowling all-rounders in Indian cricket.
It is understood that skipper Shubman Gill might also focus on red-ball preparations after the conclusion of the third ODI on November 10, and selectors face a forthcoming decision on the ODI group before the tour’s T20s begin on October 22 and the ODIs commence on November 4 in Auckland.
