With the ICC T20 World Cup just days away, Team India had announced their squad for the quadrennial event which wasn’t received with open arms across the country with different pundits expressing their own opinions on the final 15 members chosen for the showdown in the USA and West Indies.
Ajit Agarkar said, “KL Rahul has been opening in the IPL. We were mainly looking for middle-order options. So, we felt that Samson and Pant are better suited for that. Samson can bat anywhere in the lineup. So, it was just about what we needed and not about who was better”. pic.twitter.com/q92qO1sYFz
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Agarkar On KL Rahul’s Absence From Squad
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma and BCCI Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar addressed the media to answer questions about the team selected by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
When asked about why ODi World Cup 2023 star KL Rahul was not picked for the upcoming T20 World Cup, Ajit Agarkar responded by saying that they had to look at combinations that could stay at the crease for the latter stages of the innings as well. With Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant selected in the squad, Agarkar expressed that both batters have the ability to produce just that for the team.
Agarkar also stated that the decisions made by the team weren’t based on recent IPl forms as one can’t be swayed away by the a few performances of any given player in the Indian Premier League.
Team India Squad For T20 World Cup
Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan
Also Read: Former BCCI Chief Selector Criticises Shubman Gill’s Selection Over Ruturaj Gaikwad
