India vs England ODIs: Of Potential, Redemption and 2015 World Cup Blueprint

In what looks like a giant leap towards the future, more specifically the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the Indian selectors named three uncapped players - Sanju Samson, Karn Sharma and Dhawal Kulkarni - in India's 17-member squad for the five-match ODI series and one-off T20I starting in Bristol on August 25.

The diminutive wicket-keeper batsman from Kerala, Sanju Samson, comes as a delightful pick and a well-deserved one as he has constantly punched above his weight in the recent past. In the just-concluded quadrangular series in Australia, Samson amassed 244 runs at an average of 81.33 for India A.

In a steep run-chase when India A were four down for just 70 against Australia A, Samson walked in to pull his side out of misery and came agonisingly close to take his team to victory and finished with 81 runs to his name. While the match was lost, his unmistakable temperament and appetite for runs was in full display.

Wriddhiman Saha's injury opened the door for Samson but the fact he beat the likes of Dinesh Karthik and Naman Ojha, speaks volumes of a young man with a tremendous potential. Having spent enough time at Rajasthan Royals under the tutelage of Rahul Dravid, the time is ripe for Samson to take the next step forward. England will be a perfect launching pad to stake a claim for the World Cup squad.

The story of Mumbai's Kulkarni is a fascinating one, too. A persistent, hard-working medium pacer caught the eye of the selectors in 2009 as a twinkle-eyed 20-year-old boy vying for a spot in the national side. He made it to the Test squad for the tour of New Zealand but did not get any game time.

Kulkarni took that in his stride and grew from strength to strength, becoming the backbone of Mumbai's bowling attack. Having plied his trade on flat Indian pitches, conditions in England will be just perfect for Kulkarni's style of bowling.

Railways leg spinner Karn Sharma's rise to prominence in the last few years has also not gone unnoticed. With a hurried action and the ability to bowl economic spells, Karn experienced his golden period in 2012-13 season, his sixth season with Railways. With 21 wickets at an average 19.04, he won the best U-25 cricketer and carried his form into his maiden IPL season for the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Together with Amit Mishra, Karn formed a lethal combination that saw the Hyderabad franchise defend low totals and surprisingly make their way into the semis of the tournament. The Sunrisers board viewed him as an asset and that saw him fetching a whopping Rs.3.75 crores in the player auction ahead of the 2013-14 season. After a brief bidding war, the Sunrisers retained him for what was the highest amount earned by a domestic uncapped player.

Mishra's unavailability due to injury has given Karn a chance to travel to England as India's third spinning option for the limited-overs series. History suggests that the spinner, who can also throw his bat around a bit, has hardly let a big opportunity slip away from his hands.

Seniors like Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan were not considered for selection in the 17-man Indian ODI squad in England

While the selectors steered clear of falling back on the experienced but out-of-sorts likes of Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Gautam Gambhir, they have offered limited-overs specialist Suresh Raina a chance at redemption. After being dropped from the ODI side in early 2013, Raina returned to lead a second-string Indian team in a three-match series in Bangladesh in 2014.

That, however, was hardly a test of his true character and ability to fight for his spot. A slot in the middle-order in England will put his technical prowess under severe scrutiny as there are no prizes for guessing that the English bowlers will come at him with his pet peeve - the short-pitched delivery. How Raina counters them, will have a massive bearing on his future with the national side as Dhoni & Co. will begin their World Cup title defence early next year. He has been one of Dhoni's favourites in the past - in ODIs as well as the IPL - and his return to form could rekindle the faith his skipper once had in him.

While medium pacer Mohit Sharma has retained his spot - a reward for his consistency -- Lord's Test hero Ishant Sharma continues to miss out. Umesh Yadav, too, has kept his place in the side and will be more than eager to bowl on wickets that will suit his pace and bounce.  In what would have been a tough decision, the selectors also left out Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been constantly fighting to stake a claim in the crowded Indian middle-order.

Whether or not the likes Samson, Karn and Kulkarni get a real crack at England in the five ODIs and a lone T20I, the selectors deserve a round of applause for putting all their thoughts on developing India's blueprint for the upcoming World Cup.

Indian squad: MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Umesh Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Sanju Samson (wk), Karn Sharma.