London: The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators will be putting under the scanner India's World Cup performance and the ham-handed manner in which selections were made, once skipper Virat Kohli and Chief Coach Ravi Shastri return after from London.
One sticking point is Ambati Rayudu's non-selection. Both Kohli and Shastri will be asked as to why he was persisted with at home against Australia, before the World Cup, if the selectors were not convinced about him being a certainty for the number four slot. Rayudu was named a reserve in the World Cup-bound squad but wasn't called even after Team India was jolted by injuries, something that constrained him to retire from all forms of cricket.
Kohli and his men will be boarding the flight to Mumbai on Sunday. The second issue on the table is likely to be the presence of three wicketkeepers in the side, especially Dinesh Karthik, who has not performed in ODI cricket for a long time and had a wretched IPL.
Karthik, veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rishabh Pant were all part of the playing XI in various matches during the World Cup. The third point of contention could be Dhoni's batting position in the semi-final loss to underdog New Zealand. The team management is likely to be asked as to why Dhoni was sent at number seven, after the team had been reduced to 5/3 in a chase of 240.
It is learnt that batting coach Sanjay Bangar was the one who decided on Dhoni's slot and Shastri might be asked to give his view on the decision. While the current five-member selection panel will continue till the BCCI AGM, it is expected that chairman of selectors Prasad will be asked to be more assertive in selection meetings.
It is learnt that fellow selectors Sarandeep Singh and Devang Gandhi have not been giving enough tangible inputs during selection meetings. "Agreed that none of them has the stature of a Dilip Vengsarkar but together they can still hold their ground on cricketing logic,’’ a BCCI source said. (In fact, Sarandeep's presence during India net sessions in the national kit had raised a few eyebrows.)
In the team management, primarily the contribution of assistant coach Sanjay Bangar will be in question as certain sections within the BCCI believe that he should have done a better job. While he is tagged assistant coach, Bangar is the de facto batting coach Speaking to IANS, a senior BCCI official said that the constant chopping and changing in the middle-order was something that had hurt the Indian team not just in the World Cup, but over the last couple of seasons.
And as regards Bangar not being able to find a solution to the middle order imbroglio is something that reflects poorly on the coach. In fact, Bangar saying that all-rounder Vijay Shankar was fit just before he was ruled out has also been taken note of. Interestingly, team manager Sunil Subramaniam's conduct during the showpiece event has also left some of the board officials flummoxed.
CoA members Vinod Rai, Diana Edulji and Lt Gen (Retd) Ravi Thodge will also have discussions with chairman of selectors MSK Prasad on a roadmap for India for next year's T20 World Cup in Australia. They have, in the interim, given the support staff 45 more days to coach the Indian players.
