The BCCI announced a well-rounded India A squad for England tour on Friday, but a couple of choices did raise the eyebrows. While this series should have been an opportunity for domestic performers to get exposure of conditions in England, the selectors seemed to have miss the trick by not picking little-known Mumbai all-rounder Shams Mulani.
Mumbai’s Shams Mulani Deserved a Spot in India A
He is not only a heavy run-scorer lower in the batting order, but is truly a genuine wicket-taking option, who should have been rewarded for his superlative performances. In 50 FC matches, Mulani has scored 2165 runs at an average of 32, and then gone on to bag 234 wickets at an average of 23 only.
These stats were overlooked, for Harsh Dubey and Manav Suthar. The former finished as the highest wicket-getter in the last Ranji season — 69 in 10 matches, and deserved a look-in, but getting Suthar, who had 17 wickets in 4 matches, didn’t make much sense. Shams Mulani, just like other years, had performances coming in, with the bat, and the ball this season too.
All-round Abilities Make Good Case
In 9 matches he scored 365 runs at an average of 33.18, including a ton and two fifties, while with the ball in hand, he picked up 44 wickets, at an average of 23. So, maybe the 28-year-old could have been included in the squad. But then one doesn’t really know if his name was considered or not, and as to why he didn’t make it. Perhaps, with another good season, he might just make the cut.
Meanwhile, the India A side is to begin the tour with England Lions on May 30, and will play two matches. The third match of the series will be and intra-squad clash between India A and Team India, before the Test series starts on June 20.
India A Squad for England Tour: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan, Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Harsh Dubey.
After 1st Match: Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan.
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