Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir in press conference© PTI
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, 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, Agarkar gave a rather no-nonsense response, saying he can’t fit everyone in a 15-man roster.
The trio of Samson, Gaikwad and Abhishek did well for India on the tour of Zimbabwe. While Abhishek and Gaikwad were snubbed for the entire Sri Lanka tour, Samson couldn’t find a spot in India’s ODI team despite scoring a ton in his last 50-over match.
“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,” Agarkar said in the press conference.
Agarkar also cited the example of Rinku Singh, who wasn’t picked for India’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, justifying exclusion of some players who had to miss out despite superlative form.
“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,” Agarkar further said.
“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,” he explained.
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