Tag: Ajit Agarkar

India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar has broken his silence on the absence of Mohammed Shami from the Test squad for the upcoming England tour.

The 33-year-old, one of India’s most reliable red-ball performers, was expected to play a crucial role in the high-stakes five-Test series.

However, the BCCI has confirmed that Shami has been ruled out due to a fresh injury setback.

BCCI selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar addressed the media after the squad announcement and provided clarity on the exclusion of Mohammed Shami.

“He’s had a bit of a setback over the past week and got some MRIs done. He was not going to be able to play five Tests,” Agarkar explained.

“We don’t think his workload is where it needs to be. The medical team has confirmed that he’ll be unavailable.

“We were hoping he could play some part, but if he’s not fit, we’d rather pick players who are ready and available.”

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It’s worth noting that Mohammed Shami has been a key figure in India’s pace attack for years, with 229 wickets in 64 Tests at an average of 27.71.

The BCCI also officially announced Shubman Gill as India’s new Test captain, marking the beginning of a fresh era in Indian cricket.

The 25-year-old replaces Rohit Sharma, who recently retired from the format along with veterans Virat Kohli and R Ashwin.

Gill will lead India for the first time in a challenging five-match series against England, with the first Test scheduled at Headingley, Leeds, on June 20.

The remaining matches will be played at Edgbaston, Lord’s, Old Trafford, and The Oval.

India squad for the Test series against England

Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.

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India chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed the reason for appointing Suryakumar Yadav as the T20I captain over Hardik Pandya ahead of the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.

The T20 World Champions are set to participate in a three-match T20I series in Sri Lanka, commencing on July 26th, with the second and third T20Is scheduled for July 27th and 29th respectively.

Pandya, who served as India’s vice-captain under captain Rohit Sharma during the T20 World Cup, was long considered the next white-ball captain of India.

However, following Sharma’s retirement from T20I cricket, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named Suryakumar Yadav as his successor instead of Pandya.

Agarkar explained the reason for appointing Yadav as the captain, highlighting the star batter’s cricketing acumen and team rapport.

“Why Surya was made the captain, because he is one of the deserving candidates,” Agarkar said at a press conference.

“He’s been around the group over the last year, we get feedback from the dressing room a lot. [He has a] good cricket brain, and [is] one of the best T20 batters in the world.

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The former pacer drew attention to Pandya’s fitness concerns, mentioning that the decision to not give him captaincy would help in managing his workload to keep him fit.

“We want him [Hardik Pandya] to be the player he can be because those sorts of skillsets are difficult to find. Fitness has been a challenge for him over the last few years,” Agarkar stated.

“His fitness is a challenge and we wanted someone who is available more often than not. Surya has the qualities you need to succeed as a captain. Two years is a bit more time to try and look at some things a bit differently. In this way, we can manage Hardik better.”

The chief selector denied reports that Pandya suddenly lost favour after Gautam Gambhir became the head coach, stating that the move had been discussed for the past few months.

“These conversations don’t happen overnight. We’ve discussed them over the last few months, leading up to the World Cup as well,” he added.

“You get feedback from the dressing room as well, and the biggest thing is that the captain should be on the park. It’s a prerequisite really. Hopefully, Surya does it and so far, there hasn’t been a concern over his T20 batting anyway.”

Notably, Hardik Pandya has captained India in 16 T20I matches, winning 10 of them, while Suryakumar Yadav has led the side in seven games, winning five.

READ: Sri Lanka unveil new T20I captain, squad for home series against India

India chief selector Ajit Agarkar dismissed the speculations that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was dropped for the upcoming three-match away ODI series against Sri Lanka.

Agarkar’s clarification came in the wake of a report from the Hindustan Times that claimed that Jadeja is no longer part of the team’s plans for the ODIs.

Days ago, India named a full-fledged squad for their upcoming three-match away ODI series against Sri Lanka with Jadeja a notable exclusion.

According to a source in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the national men’s team’s selectors, led by newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir, want to provide ample opportunities to Axar Patel and Washington Sundar ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to take place in Pakistan.

“There are only six ODIs, including the three in Sri Lanka, before next year’s Champions Trophy. The selectors want to utilise the handful of games by giving more opportunities to Axar Patel and Washington Sundar,” Hindustan Times quoted a BCCI source.

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Meanwhile, Ajit Agarkar clarified that Ravindra Jadeja was rested, not dropped from the ODI squad. He then went on to term the all-rounder’s exclusion a strategic move, made in light of a busy Test season.

“It would have been really pointless to take both Axar and Jaddu for a three-match series,” Agarkar said.

“He has had a terrific World Cup. Not at all dropped. Either of them wouldn’t have featured in games had we taken him. There’s a big test season coming up. I think probably we should have clarified it when the squad was announced. He is still part of the format. He is a very important player for us,” he added.

Notably, Jadeja boasts a formidable all-round record in ODIs, scoring 644 runs at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 84 since India’s gut-wrenching defeat against New Zealand in the ICC Men’s World Cup 2019.

His performance with the ball has also been up to the mark, picking 44 wickets at an average of 37 and an economy of 4.9 economy.

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