The selectors have provided the Indian captain MS Dhoni many options in the One Day squad that they have picked for the series against the visiting South African team.
There is a seam bowling all rounder in Stuart Binny and there is also a spin bowling all rounder in Gurkeerat Mann who is uncapped at the international level at the moment.
Apart from that, the squad also contains six specialist bowlers out of which there are three spinners and three quickies.
Now, it’s up to Dhoni to decide what combination he wants to go with.
Dhoni, in all likelihood, would bat at no. 4 himself and Raina would take the crucial no. 6 position.
But, who would be slotted at no. 5 and no. 7?
If Dhoni reckons Binny is a good enough bowler to bowl his full quota, then he might go with a specialist batsman in the form of Ambati Rayudu at no. 5.
But, if the Indian captain has doubts over the bowling credentials of Binny, it opens the door for Gurkeerat who is a hard hitting batsman capable of bowling a bit of off spin.
Gurkeerat can be slotted just below Dhoni in the batting order with Raina and Binny following him and then the tail would start.
Leaving out Rayudu, however, would not be easy. The Hyderabad batsman has made his limited opportunities count. Even in Bangladesh, a couple of games that he played, he stitched a match winning partnership with Dhoni in one of them.
In the series against West Indies and Sri Lanka just ahead of the World Cup, he had scored heaps of runs. So, his case is quite strong.
It’s interesting to see which way Dhoni goes in terms of his selection of the playing XI. He has plenty of options.