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On Thursday, Indian captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar attended a press conference to address the burning questions over BCCI’s announcement of India’s squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup earlier this week. The press conference saw the duo clarifying key concerns and explaining the rationale behind selecting the 15 members for the touring party to the Americas; some of the key takeaways included the explanations over Rinku Singh’s absence, Virat Kohli’s strike rate concerns, and potential combinations for the squad’s success.
India will begin their campaign in the T20 World Cup on June 5 against Ireland and will also take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the group stage. The side is scheduled to play all of its matches in the United States (New York and Lauderhill); The USA will host the T20 World Cup for the first time.
Let’s take a look at some of the major talking points from the press conference on Thursday:
One of the major shocks in the T20 World Cup squad announcement was the absence of star batter Rinku Singh. Rinku has been one of India’s T20I regulars since making his debut last year; he has played 15 matches for the national team in the shortest format and boasts a strike rate just above 176. Justifiably, Rinku’s omission raised eyebrows, and chief selector Ajit Agarkar insisted that the batter, who is currently with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, has done nothing wrong.
“It’s probably the toughest thing we have had to discuss. He has done nothing wrong, not even Shubman Gill, for that matter. It’s about combinations,” Agarkar said.
The 26-year-old batter from Uttar Pradesh is part of the reserves in the T20 World Cup, which also include Shubman Gill, Avesh Khan, and Khaleel Ahmed. Rinku has had limited opportunities in the ongoing IPL season, as he scarcely batted in the top-five for KKR this year; the franchise promoted Venkatesh Iyer and Angkrish Raghuvanshi in the batting order, both of whom were far away from contention for T20 World Cup spots. Many believe the lack of chances worked against Rinku, leading the BCCI to snub the KKR star for the marquee tournament.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter has been among the runs in the ongoing IPL; he was the first to breach the 500-run mark this year and is currently second in the list of highest run-getters (500 runs in 10 matches). However, his strike rate has been under the scanner, too. In a season where teams are consistently scoring above 200, Kohli‘s strike rate of 147.49 has drawn eyeballs.
For Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar, however, the concern is not worth being put on the table. “We haven’t been discussing it (the strike rate). He has been in great form in the IPL. No concerns there at all,” Agarkar said.
“You want some experience in the team. These guys have been around because they’ve been good at this level,” the former India all-rounder added.
Kohli was India’s leading run-scorer in the previous T20 World Cup, where he also led the overall run-chart. However, he had a strike rate of 136.20.
There was an intense three-way battle for wicketkeeper’s spots at the T20 World Cup; while Rishabh Pant was almost certain to make a comeback in the squad, Sanju Samson and KL Rahul were eyeing the second wicketkeeper role in the Americas. Both have been impressive in the ongoing IPL season, but Samson eventually beat the Lucknow Super Giants captain for the coveted spot in the 15-member roster.
Agarkar spoke in detail about the exclusion of KL Rahul from the squad, revealing that their focus was on strengthening the middle order. Conversely, Rahul’s role for the Lucknow Super Giants has primarily been as an opener throughout the season.
“KL’s a terrific player. The thing we all know is that we were looking for guys who bat in the middle. We feel Sanju has the ability to come down the order if need be. Rishabh batting at No. 5 for DC. It wasn’t whether KL is better or these guys are better. It’s about the slots we needed, and we felt that these two were better equipped at this point in the latter half of the innings. KL’s batting at top right now (for his IPL team),” Agarkar said.
Shivam Dube has made an extraordinary rise over the past couple of years; after his impressive batting outings that contributed to Chennai Super Kings’ IPL title victory in 2023, Dube made a return to the Indian team in the shortest format. However, what particularly worked in the left-handed batter’s favour was his consistent performances in the ongoing season, too. While Rinku Singh played only 82 deliveries throughout the edition so far, Dube has consistently been among the top-five in CSK’s batting order and produced explosive performances for the side.
Rohit gave an indication that Dube can be in the XI come June 5, when India begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland.
“We needed someone to come in middle overs and play that role. We picked Shivam Dube based on what he has done in IPL and a few games he played before IPL,” Rohit said in the press conference.
“I’ve never played in New York. So, I don’t know what pitches are like there. So all options are open. We’ll go there and figure out what players to play. One thing we looked at was our middle overs hitting. Top-order hitting has been all right. It is not been bad, there are options as well.”
Hardik Pandya may have been enduring a poor run in the IPL, but the duo of Rohit and Agarkar remains convinced that there are no alternatives to the impact the all-rounder makes in the XI. Hardik made his return to competitive cricket this year, leading the Mumbai Indians; however, the all-rounder is yet to reach the 200-run mark in 10 matches and has picked only six wickets. Moreover, Hardik was also named the vice-captain of the Indian team for the marquee tournament.
“Nothing was discussed with regard to being vice-captain. You want everyone to be in good form. The good part is that he (Hardik) has gotten through all the games for MI, and we have a month and a little bit.
“We know he is doing that and hope he keeps building on that form. I don’t think there is a replacement for the things he can do. He gives the team balance and Rohit the option to play different combinations. Fortunately, he has gone well this IPL thus far,” Agarkar said.
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