Vijay Shankar was a last minute shoo in after all other players India tried at number 4 over the years failed.SBajwa wrote:So! bowlers save the day!! I say that Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Kartik should be given a chance in middle order instead of Vijay S and Jadhav. 260s is very easy to chase in these conditions. I am not sure what Vijay S did to get a guaranteed selection in world cup. Even R Ashwin has more experience and has proven himself.
Rayudu was the top contender until he failed in the NZ one dayers and VS did well in the T20 matches after that.
Kartik failed too and he is not the first choice number 4. He is in more as a wicket keeping backup to Dhoni and only then as number 4.
Pant's keeping was not considered adequate for English conditions.
I like VS' batting and it is harsh to drop him after only after 1.5 failures. He made a good 29 against Afg in a low scoring match and looked assured before getting out to poor shot selection.
He got out to a good ball in today's match.
R Ashwin hasn't been in the one day set up for a looong time now. .