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Should Ishant Sharma have been dropped from the Indian team?

Ishant Sharma retained his place for the remaining four one-dayers against Australia as Team India preferred to name an unchanged squad.

But the bowler is clearly struggling for form.

Ishant had a forgettable outing in the third ODI in Mohali, giving away 30 runs in one over. That tilted the match Australia's way.

The bowler has conceded 189 runs for two wickets in the three matches thus far, for an economy rate of 7.87.

Is this good enough to qualify for the team? Should he have been dropped?

Tell us!

 

Should Ishant Sharma have been dropped from the Indian team?

And the next question that arises: should he be dropped, does Indian have enough replacements available. 

Of those in the team at the moment, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and R Vinay Kumar have been equally disappointing.

Although Bhuvneshwar's economy rate of 5.37 is the best among the three pacers, he has taken just one wicket in the three matches while conceding 145 runs.

Vinay Kumar has taken five wickets but, at the same time, has given away 191 runs for an economy rate of 7.20.

In such a scenario, Zaheer Khan, the old war horse, seems to be the lone viable option.

 

Should Ishant Sharma have been dropped from the Indian team?

Umesh Yadav can also be tried out. 

The bowler, though erratic, is genuinely quick. And should he remain injury-free, can be a long term option for the team.

Varun Aaron also seems to have recovered from a long lay-off and is raring to go. 

But to expect him to be match fit is asking a bit too much.

 

Should Ishant Sharma have been dropped from the Indian team?

The other pace options in the squad are Mohammed Shami and Jaydev Unadkat, both of whom have not been given a chance in the series yet.

But the question remains. 

Are they good enough?