New Delhi: One of the biggest talking points if not the biggest from India’s squad selection for the Sri Lanka tour was the omission of Sanju Samson from the ODI team and the non-selection of Ruturaj Gaikwad. While Samson was selected for the T20I leg of the tour, Gaikwad wasn’t picked in either squad.
Fans raged at the selector’s decision to drop Samson from the ODI squad even though the Kerala batter smashed a century in his last innings in the 50-over format and questioned the omission of Gaikwad despite leading India to a gold medal at the Asian Games last year and his good performances in Zimbabwe.
Samson was overlooked in favour of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul as the wicketkeeping options for the ODIs.
Agarkar’s blunt reply on Samson, Gaikwad omissions
When asked about the omissions of the talented duo, chief selector Ajit Agarkar who was addressing the press conference ahead of the Sri Lanka tour, gave a blunt reply.
“Every player left out feels hard done. You’ve got to see who’s picked ahead. At this stage, we had the opportunity to send guys to Zimbabwe. Sometimes it’s just the way things go. Tough to stuff all in 15,” Agarkar said.
Was Jadeja dropped?
Agarkar, who held a joint presser alongside newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir, also cleared the air surrounding Ravindra Jadeja’s future in ODIs. The spin bowling all-rounder, who retired from T20Is after India’s T20 World Cup 2024 win in the Caribbean, was not selected for the ODI squad for the Sri Lanka tour. His omission sparked a huge debate on his future in the 50-over format in international cricket.
However, Agarkar assured that Jadeja is still in the scheme of things as far as ODIs are concerned but the selectors could only pick one left-arm spinner and Axar Patel, due to his recent form, was the first-choice finger spinner.
Agarkar also said that Jadeja was not dropped and remains in the plans for the 2025 Champions Trophy
Sanju Samson was overlooked in favour of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul as the wicketkeeping options for the ODIs. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
