Toss-up between Khaleel and Unadkat for Oz series

Mumbai, February 14 

Zeroing in on players for a couple of available World Cup spots, including a toss-up between left-arm pacers Jaydev Unadkat and Khaleel Ahmed, will be the selection committee’s primary focus on Friday when it picks the India squad for the limited-overs series against Australia. India will play two T20Is and five ODIs, starting on February 24, in what will be their last international assignment before the World Cup, which begins in England on May 30.

The series against Australia will also be an indicator as to who among Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik will board the Heathrow-bound flight as a specialist batsman and reserve wicketkeeper. KL Rahul is back in the mix as the third opener after a couple of good innings for India A against England Lions in the two unofficial Tests. 

While the two T20I matches will be a precursor to the ODI series, vice-captain Rohit Sharma is likely to be given a short break to rejuvenate and come back fresh for the ODIs. The selectors have reportedly already finalised 13 names for the World Cup — they are Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.

Skipper Kohli and pace spearhead Bumrah will be back in action for the final dress rehearsal and the selectors are unlikely to look beyond 16 to 17 players who are now in the scheme of things for the World Cup. There are at least four contenders for the last two slots depending on the combination the team management would want. — PTI