India Vs Australia: BCCI shortlists 18 players for World Cup, Rishabh Pant likely to be one of them

National selection committee chairman MSK Prasad Friday said that 18 cricketers have been shortlisted for the upcoming ODI World Cup and the BCCI is in talks with their respective IPL franchises to manage their workload ahead of the mega-event in England. There have been discussions that India's World Cup hopefuls' workload management should be monitored during the IPL, starting March 23, so that they remain fresh during the May 30-July 14 extravaganza.

"We have shortlisted 18 players and we will rotate them during the World Cup. As far as workload management is concerned, it is yet to be worked out. There are discussions happening on that front and we will let you know," Prasad told reporters after selecting various squads for the home limited-overs series against Australia which starts February 24.

Whether the franchises will agree to rest the top India players on their roster after paying millions to them, has been a subject of debate.

When acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary was asked this question, he admitted that the franchises have diverse views on the matter.

"If your question suggests that the franchises will be wary of resting players, it is an issue we will deal with considering it's a World Cup year. There have been views from franchises and I am not going into specifics," he said.

He also urged the franchises to keep the national interest in mind. "And also considering the fact that all the franchises are Indian franchises, the interest of the country, of doing well at the highest international level, is paramount," Choudhary said.

The Chief Selector MSK Prasad also spoke about the wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant. He indirectly gave a hint to populous about Rishabh Pant’s inclusion in the forthcoming World Cup.

While addressing to the media he said, “Yes definitely, because prior to the series against Australia, we had two series against Australia and New Zealand that’s where he wasn’t chosen in the limited overs squad. If you see he played four Test matches so we wanted him to have a good break, he had a 20 days break then he played a couple of ODI against England Lions and did extremely well.”

“He then played against New Zealand in the T20 series and performed decently. So, we want to give him a few more opportunities before the World Cup before taking a final call,” he added.

(With Inputs: PTI)

HIGHLIGHTS

• BCCI shortlisted 18 players for the upcoming World Cup. 
• Rishabh Pant likely to be a part of the forthcoming mega event. 
• IPL franchises have been asked to handle the workload management of these 18 players.