India chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed why they didn't select Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhishek Sharma in the T20I squad against Sri Lanka. India will play three T20Is against the Island Nation from July 27. Both Abhishek and Ruturaj were seen in good form in their recent T20I outing against Zimbabwe. Abhishek Sharma smashed his maiden century in the second T20I and on the other hand, Gaikwad scored 7, 77 and 49 respectively in three innings.
Agarkar said that the management's biggest challenge is that they can only pick 15 players in the squad so someone will likely to miss out.
“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" Said Agarkar.
After the T20I series, the Men in Blue will play three ODIs scheduled to start from August 2 where likes of Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be seen in action.
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Sanju Samson, with an ODI average of over 50, was excluded from the ODI team but selected for the T20I squad, leading to confusion among fans given his recent form and versatility in batting. Agarkar defended Samson's omission, citing competition with Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul for the wicketkeeper-batsman role. He clarified that Samson was considered primarily as a backup.
"We had an opportunity to give some of those guys a go in the Zimbabwe series, which was good. So, we have enough depth if tomorrow there is loss of form for the players that are playing or there are injuries," said the Chief Selector.
The chief selector also gave the example of hard-hitting batter Rinku Singh who missed his spot in the T20 World Cup 2024 despite a terrific performance in the shortest format of the game.
"But it's tough. 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” added Agarkar.
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