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Team India's chief selector Ajit Agarkar opened up on the tough decision to leave out Rinku Singh from the 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 to be played in the West Indies and the USA.
Quite a few eyebrows were raised when the southpaw wasn't a part of India's squad and the reaction was understandable given Rinku's incredible numbers. In 15 T20Is, the southpaw averages a mind-boggling 89 with a strike rate of 176.23.
However, while addressing the press conference alongside captain Rohit Sharma, Ajit Agarkar explained how Rinku Singh not being a part of the squad was not his fault but was a consequence of the team combination. He said:
"It's probably the toughest thing we had to discuss. He has done nothing wrong. I don't think it has anything to do with Rinku Singh. It's not his fault that he has missed out. It's more the 15 that we felt gives with two keepers who are already terrific batters. So we just thought having another bowling option would be handy. He is still one of the traveling subs. That's how close he was."
Rohit, who will lead the Indian team, hasn't been the captain of the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL 2024 season. However, he doesn't feel that it would affect him being back at the helm for the Men in Blue. He opined:
"It's part of life. Not everything will go your way. I have not been captain before as well and I have played under other captains. So it is nothing new to me. You try to do whatever you can do as a player and I have only tried to do that for the last month or so."
All-rounder Hardik Pandya, who took over from Rohit as captain at MI, will be the veteran opener's deputy at the T20 World Cup.
Ajit Agarkar dismisses Virat Kohli's strike rate debate
Ajit Agarkar and Rohit Sharma both couldn't help but giggle a bit when asked whether Virat Kohli's strike rate was a topic of debate while choosing the squad. Agarkar was quick to say that there was no debate on the former Indian captain's place in the side and was delighted with the way Kohli had been performing in the IPL.
On this, Ajit Agarkar said:
"Virat Kohli's strike rate I don't think we have been discussing (laughs). Look I think he has been in great form fortunately in the IPL. So no concerns there at all. There's a gap between IPL and international cricket and that's where experience does matter a lot."
Rohit Sharma gave a sneak-peek into why India opted to name four spinners in their 15-man squad. However, he has claimed that he will not give out the complete reason before the first T20 World Cup press conference in the West Indies. He stated:
"I don't want to go into too much detail on it because I am sure opposition captains will be listening to this. I will give a very short answer. I definitely wanted four spinners. We know the conditions there. The matches start in the morning like 10-10:30. Maybe the first press conference I will do in the West Indies I will give more detail on this."
India's T20 World Cup Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (Vice Captain), 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.
