Ashton Agar was picked in Australia's Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 squad as speciallist left-arm spinner. Before the Indore Test which visitors won by nine wickets, Agar has said that he does not hold it against anyone as the communication was clear with him in the Australian camp.
Agar did not get game time and saw 22-year-old Todd Murphy and 26-year-old Matthew Kuhnemann make their respective Test debuts on spin-friendly tracks.
After going back home, Agar proved that he is a quality spinner. The 29-year-old picked up five wickets for Western Australia in the Marsh Cup final.
"I felt I wasn't bowling as well as I needed to be. It's a very clear direction for me now to just work on it and improve," Agar was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
"I harbour no ill will or ill feeling at all. I'm very well supported in that (Australian) camp and they've kept in constant communication with me, so it's all in a good place.
"I've been a professional cricketer for ten years now, so I'm far more resilient than when I started. It's a tough game, it's a ruthless environment, and that's how it should be because it's the pinnacle of the sport."
While Agar has been impressive in white-ball cricket, his red-ball cricket record is far from it. From five Tests, he has nine wickets at an average of 52. His best performance in Test cricket came with the bat when he scored a record-breaking 98 against England on his Test debut.
"I've always wanted to play as much as I could for Australia in whatever format that is and just take my opportunities when they come," he said.
"Playing for Australia in all forms, of course, I still want to do that. But my focus is just on cricket, you just play what's in front of you and you try and do as well as you can."
Agar will come back for the three-ODI series starting March 17. He will be looking to seal a spot in the squad of ODI World Cup later this year.
"(Adam Zampa) Zamps is entrenched as the white-ball spinner. It all depends what we're doing - playing two spinners or just the one," Agar said.
“If I do play, I usually bat at eight and try to get my ten overs out. I'm certainly looking forward to the World Cup.”
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