Agarkar Responds to Major Missing from WC Squad: India’s chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, spoke about the major inclusions and absences in India’s T20 World Cup squad. He was speaking in the press conference after team selection for the ultimate T20 tournament.
Agarker attended the presser along with captain Rohit Sharma.
Agarkar Responds to Major Missing from WC Squad
‘Samson Can Bat Anywhere..’
India’s wicketkeeping position was the most anticipated and discussed slot ahead of the World Cup. There were 5 people competing for a single slot among the likes of Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, and Jitesh Sharma. When the team announced it, IPL sensation Sanju Samson and DC’s Rishabh Pant got the green light for the squad.
Samson has been incredible as a captain and a wicketkeeper-batter for the Rajasthan Royals. Pant was also in good form, and both of these batters are capable of batting in the middle. KL Rahul opens for LSG, and this may have cost him a spot in the World Cup team.
India’s top order is stacked, and the team needed someone to bat at 5. So naturally, Samson and Pant got the lot. Agarkar made this argument in the press conference.
“Rahul has been batting at the top order; we were looking for middle-order WK – we feel Sanju has the ability to bat down the order. It is about the slots we needed to fill, that is the thinking behind backing Pant & Samson,” said Agarkar.
‘Rinku Hasn’t Done Anything Wrong..’
Rinku Singh’s exclusion from the squad had created a buzz on social media. Fans were pledging the bias in team selection as the underperforming Ravindra Jadeja were chosen to bat 8. In comparison to Jadeja, Rinku is a better hitter. Jadeja’s bowling ability might stand out, but India are already going with 3 specialist spinners to the World Cup. Agarker responded to the criticism by saying that the decision was tough:
“It was the tough choice, Rinku hasn’t done anything wrong – same with Gill. Rinku was unfortunate, he was so close.”
‘No Replacement for Hardik Pandya..’
Agarkar also backed the selection of Hardi Pandya, who has been having a dismal season in the IPL this season.
“There are no replacements for the things Hardik Pandya can do,” said the selector.
‘No Talk on Strike Rate..’
Virat Kohli has been getting hunted by pundits with bizarre arguments, primarily bringing up his strike rate in the tournament. Agarker wrote off this argument and backed the legendary batter.
“There hasn’t been any talk with the Strike Rate of Kohli (big smiles) – he has been doing so well in IPL”, he concluded.
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