Report: Krunal Pandya and Karun Nair might be included in Indian Squad for Zimbabwe tour

With the selection committee meeting later today to select the Indian squads for both the Zimbabwe and West Indies tours, there could be plenty of surprises in store. Delhi Daredevils batsman Karun Nair and Krunal Pandya who has shown promise with his all-round exploits for Mumbai Indians could be part of the limited-overs trip to Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, 21-year old Shreyas Iyer might find a place in the Test team for the Caribbean tour. According to sources in BCCI, there could be a shake-up in the ODI and T20I squads with several senior players given a rest.

When BCCI President Anurag Thakur was quizzed about the non-availability of the established stars for the Zimbabwe tour, he remained rather non-committal in his response by indicating, “Let the selectors decide that.”

Revealing that the board and selectors need to be informed by the players who are in need of a break, Thakur affirmed, “Before any tour if any player wants to take rest, they convey it to the BCCI and the selection committee.”

Regarding the possibility to infuse young blood into the Indian LOI set-up, he added, “Even if the selection committee wants to experiment with new players, they take the senior players into confidence.”

Karun Nair who plays for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy, has been in fine form for the last season or two. More recently, he was an integral part of the Delhi Daredevils batting lineup and scored 357 runs from 14 matches at an average of 35.70 and strike-rate of 120.20 with three half-centuries.

The compact right-hander helped his side to an improbable victory by displaying immense fortitude in the business stage of the innings. If selected, the Zimbabwe tour could serve as an audition for a middle-order slot.

Krunal Pandya might also join in his younger brother Hardik’s footsteps and make his international debut. An useful spin bowling all-rounder, he relished being a part of the Mumbai Indians and scored 237 runs to go with his six wickets.

However, the Test squad will be on full-strength and should not see too many changes. Rohit Sharma’s tryst with red-ball cricket is in serious danger with Shreyas Iyer poised to take his spot. The top-order batsman from Mumbai had an imposing Ranji Trophy season by amassing 1321 runs at an average of 73.38. As evidenced by a career-strike rate of 83.91, his penchant for aggressive stroke-play is also a massive advantage to the team.

India are scheduled to play 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is against Zimbabwe in June before embarking to the West Indies for a 4-Test series during the months of July and August.