The selectors of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a 15-member squad for India's tour of Sri Lanka. There were speculations that the selection committee headed by former Indian cricketer Sandeep Patil was considering a third specialist spinner. And on Thursday, brushing aside all the rumours, they have picked up Amit Mishra.
Mishra made his way back into the Test squad after four years. He had last played in the tour of England back in 2011, where he featured in two matches and took three wickets at an average of 106.66.
"Amit Mishra has always been part of our thinking. If you remember, even last year he was in the reserves [for the West Indies series]. The final authority of picking the XI is the role of the captain and the team management. Why A was not played and why B was picked it is not what we get into. Looking at the conditions, we have picked him for this SL tour," Sandeep Patil told the reporters at a press conference in New Delhi.
Karn Sharma and Mohammed Shami were not included in the side because of fitness issues. Shami is recovering from a knee surgery and Sharma had a fractured finger ahead of the Zimbabwe tour.
The selectors also backed their decision of not picking a back-up wicketkeeper for the tour of Sri Lanka. But they said they are ready with a back-up in case of any injury issues.
"We have a standby wicketkeeper we have nominated," Patil said. "Secretary and selectors, we are aware who is the wicketkeeper nominated if there is injury on the SL tour."
Patil also went on to say that Saha cannot be compared with MS Dhoni at this stage, but he is a good addition to the squad.
"Does he have the technique or not, time will tell," he added, "We have backed him looking at his performance in domestic cricket. The kind of experience he carries. You immediately cannot replace someone like Dhoni and come in and deliver the results. But we certainly feel that Wriddhiman is the right option and looking at his ability in batting as well, he should strike a good balance."
