Plenty to gain!

The ODI series against South Africa was certainly out of place being played just a few weeks before the start of the T20 World Cup in AustraliaBut then India it seems were doing South Africa a favour by providing them with an opportunity to improve their position in the ICC rankings A series win would have helped them to move closer to getting a direct entry into the 2023 ICC World Cup 50 overs to be held in India But that did not happen as South Africa lost the series to a secondstring Indian sideTheir inconsistent performance has not only made their task of getting into the Top 8 in ICC rankings tougher but has also raised a few questions on their preparedness going into the T20 World CupIn the end the Indians gained more than the South Africans could not only clinching the series 21 but also most of the fringe and young players coming good in the three matches It was Sanju Samson who played a valiant knock in the first game in Lucknow Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer came to the fore in the second at Ranchi and after the bowlers throttled the South African batting it was the turn of Shubman Gill to come into the limelight in the deciding game here on TuesdayAlso Read Kuldeep claims four as India bowl out South Africa for 99Siraj Shardul Shami for OzOn the bowling front the return to form of spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar and impressive performances by Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur have opened a lot of options for the Indian selectors to look into No wonder Siraj and Shardul along with Shami will join the Indian team in Australia soon enough if they have their visas in place These three will not only act as net bowlers as Umran Malik and Kuldeep Senrsquos visas are yet to be processed one of them will ultimately replace injured Jasprit Bumrah in the T20 World Cup squad Dhawan disappointsIf at all India had some disappointment it was the failure of the captain Shikhar Dhawan with the bat even as he led the team very well His failure in all three games has put a question mark on his chances of getting into the Indian team for the 2023 World Cup However there is still a lot of time before India hosts the mega eventBy the time the selectors sit down to zero in on the players for the 2023 World Cup they will have a large pool to pick from It undoubtedly will be a big challenge to choose the squad It will be an onerous task but the selectors will be happy with the problem of plenty than having very limited choices Indiarsquos interim coach for the series against South Africa VVS Laxman said that it would be challenging for the selectors to put together the ideal squad for the 2023 World Cup The former India batsman claimed that because of the excellent competition and highlevel performance by younger players the team management and the selectors will have options galoreldquoWe have a talented group of cricketers and they have played very well to win the series against a strong South African side The competition among them is equally good so we are spoilt for choice It would be challenging for the selectors to choose the best side for the 2023 World CupldquoHowever the fringe players are aware that once the key players return they wonrsquot have as many opportunities so this was their moment to shine and remain in contention when the team is selected for the ICC World Cuprdquo Laxman saidAlso Read Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan to be seen in Huma QureshiSonakshi Sinha starrer Double XLHarder for SAWhile Indiarsquos secondstring players showed their prowess and impressed one and all it was not the case with the South Africans Their performance was inconsistent to say the least They went from the sublime to the ridiculousA superb show in the first game at Lucknow and then bowled out for 99 in the seriesdeciding match in Delhi will haunt them going into the T20 World CupTheir biggest concernremains the form of skipper Temba Bavuma Though his leadership is not being questioned his contribution with the bat has been next to nothing This does not augur well for a team going into a mega event