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The selectors will meet in Mumbai on Monday to brainstorm over the selection of second wicketkeeper, the player for number four slot and the need for an additional pacer. It may be recalled that after the end of the home series against Australia, skipper Virat Kohli had hinted that the core of the team has been decided and only one slot was up for grabs.
Experts maintain that the highlight of the discussion will be Rishabh Pant’s competition for the second keeper’s slot with Dinesh Karthik. Going by the current form young Pant has an advantage over Karthik but if the selectors will go for experience then Karthik is the obvious choice.
Pant’s fans will say that he is capable of batting at any slot between Nos 1 and 7 and since he is a left-hander he can add variety to the batting line-up. On the other hand, Karthik is a slightly better keeper against spinner which makes his case strong too.
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One more thing which the selectors will need to discuss is the fourth specialist seamer becuase the presence of quality seamers in the side is always a bonus for any side.
Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are set to make it to the squad but the door is wide open for the fourth seamer. Ishant Sharma, Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav and Deepak Chahar are all in the race for fourth pacer plot.