• Source:JND
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BCCI announced a 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup on Monday as India gear up for the continental championship that runs from August 30 to September 17 in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Chief of the selection committee Ajit Agarkar hosted a press conference in the presence of skipper Rohit Sharma alongside where both addressed the media and answered multiple questions regarding the selection.

Former Australia cricketer Tom Moody hailed BCCI for taking a step to host a press conference and put up clarity over selections while adding that communication is really important at times.

"I did enjoy the transparency and the honesty that came through in that press conference. I think communication is really important at times, whether it be in India or any other country for that matter. There can't be that cloak-and-dagger press conference where you have these hidden messages, and then you walk out of a press conference no clearer than what you did when you walked into that press conference. So I think the clarity in their messaging was really important," Moody said.

The governing body has faced outrage at times for not having any transparency in the selection process, regarding the inclusion or exclusion of the players from the team.

Moody also praised the explanation Rohit and Agarkar gave on including just one wrist spinner.

"I liked the fact that they made it very clear about the wrist spinning decision, why they only went for one wrist spinner and just small points around that," Moody said on Star Sports.

He also mentioned the surprise selection of Tilak Varma who got his maiden call-up for the ODIs, having already played for the Men in Blue in West Indies in the shortest format. describing his inclusion as a "wonderful" decision and lauded the team management for its vision and brave call.

"I think it’s a wonderful selection. I'll call it brave, but I also call it in the same breath smart. He is clearly a player on the rise, as I touched on earlier," Moody said while talking about Varma.

"He’s got not only skill but an enormous temperament, and he is showing that on a regular basis. We have talked about the value of left-handedness in the top order, so him coming in at that number five or six positions is going to be valuable for India, particularly to have that balance against spin," he added.

India squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya (vice-capt), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna

Reserve player: Sanju Samson

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