The deadline for naming India’s squad for the World T20 championships in England is only two days away, and though most the players virtually pick themselves on form or reputation, sources say the five selectors — chairman Krishnamachari Srikanth, Narendra Hirwani, Yashpal Sharma, Surendra Bhave and Raja Venkat — are trying to home in on a seam-bowling all-rounder for the tournament.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh are certain to make the grade. The Pathan brothers — Irfan and Yusuf — have been firing for their respective sides, while Rohit Sharma’s success for the Deccan Chargers highlights his case as well. Dinesh Karthik, who reinforced his claim with a 30-ball 41 in Delhi’s win on Thursday, is the front-runner for the second wicketkeeping slot ahead of Parthiv Patel and Robin Uthappa.

In the bowling department, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma will definitely continue as India’s frontline pacemen, with one of the IPL’s highest wicket-takers, RP Singh, looking set to make a comeback. Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ohja, too, almost seem to have cemented their places with the show in South Africa so far.

But there are a host of contenders for the 15th and final spot in the team. Ravindra Jadeja has been part of the T20 scheme in recent times, while L Balaji, Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel are strong seam options despite being a little off their best in the tournament so far. According to sources, however, the selectors are searching for another seam-bowling all-rounder who will also justify the IPL as a genuine platform for selection.

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