Spinner Nadeem could be in fray for England T20 series

New Delhi : Jharkhand’s left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem who has been performing sensationally has made a strong case for himself to be considered for the six-match limited overs series against England. Ravindra Axar Patel ruled out of a finger injury can propel Nadeem chances.

With Axar ruled out and Jadeja expected to be sparingly used during the upcoming series of 3 ODIs and 3 T20 Internationals, Nadeem, who is currently the highest wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy with 50 scalps, comes into the picture for the shortest format.

Incidentally, Nadeem had 51 wickets in 9 games during the last Ranji Trophy (2015-16) season.

With 100 plus wickets in two Ranji seasons, it will be difficult to ignore Nadeem, who has done the hard yards in domestic cricket in the last decade.

He has also played 83 T20s, including a fair share of IPL games with a decent career economy rate of under seven runs per over (6.59).

There is a strong possibility that India’s top players will be playing the 50-over format considering that it will be the last chance to have some ODIs under their belt before the Champions Trophy. The national team is still to play five more Tests followed by the IPL.

With another gruelling four-Test series against Australia awaiting in first part of summer, it could be a case of Jadeja being used for the ODIs and rested for the T20 Internationals.

India does not have any more T20 Internationals for the time being, allowing the selection committee to try some of the other players.