Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar, who is the chairman of the BCCI selection committee, had to answer some tough questions in the press conference on Monday. Speaking to media with head coach Gautam Gambhir before the team’s departure to Sri Lanka, Ajit Agarkar had more questions to answer about those snubbed by the selection committee than those selected.
When asked about the absence of Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhishek Sharma, Ajit Agarkar gave a rather no-nonsense response, saying he can’t fit everyone in a 15-man roster.
Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma , Ruturaj Gaikwad the stars of Zimbabwe tour not included for Sri Lankan squad
Abhishek Sharma , who made his T20I debut recently in the Zimbabwe series, smashed a ton in the limited opportunities he got while Ruturaj Gaikwad also gave a good account of himself in games he got as despite playing out of position at No 3 and 4, he didn’t get picked for the three T20Is. Similarly, Sanju Samson, who scored a fifty in the Zimbabwe series, smashed his maiden international ton when India last played an ODI but he too didn’t get a look in given Rishabh Pant has returned as the second wicketkeeper with KL Rahul already there.
As the main players return to the squad post WT20 2024 Title win, the likes of players like Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad considered to be India’s future is given a break by the team selection committee under Ajit Agarkar and newly appointed Head Coach Gautam Gambhir.
Team India’s new head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar addressed the press conference before the departure for the Sri Lanka tour on Monday, July 22. It was the first time that Gambhir addressed the media after becoming the new head coach while Agarkar also spoke in detail about some pertaining questions regarding the T20 and ODI squads announced for the white-ball tour. One of the key takeaways from the squads was the omission of players despite the performance in recent times.
Ajit Agarkar opens up on Sanju Samson and other absentees from IND vs SL squads in 2024 series
Team India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar gave a blunt response when asked about the omission of Sanju Samson from the ODI squad and Abhishek Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad from both the white-ball teams for the tour of Sri Lanka.
Abhishek smashed a sensational hundred in the recent T20I series against Zimbabwe, while Samson has a hundred in just his last ODI outing. Gaikwad gave decent performances when asked to bat in the middle order against Zimbabwe.
However, speaking to the reporters ahead of Team India’s departure to Sri Lanka, Ajit Agarkar shed light on the difficulty of selecting 15-man squads. He said (via NDTV):
“Every player who’s left out feels hard done by. Our challenge is to pick only 15. You try and get the best balance possible. So someone’s likely to miss out. Sometimes, they have had decent performances in recent times but you’ve got to see who is picked ahead of them. Are those guys not deserving of their place? If that’s the case, then there are things to discuss.”
Ajit Agarkar claimed that the selectors will consider the performances in the T20Is against Zimbabwe and will look at the fringe players if there are injuries or loss of form with the currently selected players.
Ajit Agarkar gave the example of Rinku Singh’s exclusion from T20 World Cup
Ajit Agarkar also highlighted how Rinku Singh missed out on the T20 World Cup squad despite terrific performances in the build-up to the tournament. He claimed it was important to look at the balance of the side while making selection calls.
On this, he stated:
“I mean Rinku for no fault of his missed out from the World Cup, it’s an example. He had a terrific [run in the] T20 leading up to the World Cup. But sometimes it’s just the way it goes. Unfortunately for us as well, it is difficult to fit everyone in the fifteen.”
Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar mentioned that they too were hamstrung since they could pick only fifteen and felt for the players who missed out. Hence, Samson, who would get his opportunity in the T20Is, will hope to solidify his position in the format for India.