India Squad For Champions Trophy: Out Of Favour Star, Axed From BCCI Contracts, Makes Surprise Entry In Spot Race

KL Rahul's presence behind the stumps during the ODI World Cup gave the Indian team the balance but the stylish Karnataka right-hander is unlikely to don the big gloves in white-ball cricket going forward. The national selection committee is expected to meet on January 19, a day after the Vijay Hazare Trophy final, to select the 15-member provisional squad for the Champions Trophy and there will be some debate on two fringe selections - the second keeper's slot and the wrist spinner in case Kuldeep Yadav fails to get fit in time.

In the case of keeper's slot, Rishabh Pant is the first choice by a country mile but the second keeper's slot could be a three-way fight between Dhruv Jurel, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. As of now, it looks like Jurel could win the battle.

Samson could lose out as he decided to skip the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Kishan played 27 ODIs to score 933 runs at an average of 42-plus with a double hundred and seven half-centuries to show for his efforts.

But he has fallen a bit out of favour with the current selection committee after skipping domestic cricket last year, which led to him losing his BCCI annual central contract.

Kishan has had a modest Vijay Hazare Trophy where he scored 316 runs in seven games with a single hundred against one of the NE states.

While Kishan was a part of the World Cup squad, young UP and Rajasthan Royals man Jurel has impressed one and all and could certainly walk in as the second keeper.

Jurel has been kept in the T20 squad for England also as Sanju Samson's understudy. While he has made his T20I debut in Zimbabwe, his selection in the shortest format is significant as the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, seemed to be keen on keeping him in the white-ball scheme