- By Himanshu Badola
- Mon, 21 Aug 2023 03:55 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar, on Monday (August 21), claimed that India's squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup at home would not be too much different than the Asia Cup squad. The Ajit Agarkar-led panel announced Team India’s squad for the Asia Cup in the presence of skipper Rohit Sharma on Monday.
The selection panel named a 17-member squad for the continental championship that takes place in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Both KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer have recovered from injuries and are named in the squad, having not played a competitive game since March and May respectively.
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After announcing the squad, Agarkar said that the World Cup squad will not vary significantly from the Asia Cup squad which has been considered as a hint of the end of the road of consideration for the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin.
With Chahal out, Kuldeep Yadav is the only wrist spinner in the side.
He also stated that the World Cup squad will be announced after a short camp and a few games
“I mean, it’s really a no-brainer. We picked these 18 guys, so it’ll be in and around those guys. A few important guys are coming back from injury. Hopefully, all goes well with them. They’ve got a few games now in the Asia Cup, so yeah, it’ll be close between these guys.
But fortunately, we have some more time. Fifth is the deadline, and we’ll get to look at the players as a short camp, followed by a couple of games before we announce the actual squad. But, uh, yeah, it will obviously be around these guys on it,” said Ajit Agarkar.
However, captain Rohit talked about the omission of Ashwin and Chahal, stating that the management was impressed by Axar Patel’s ability to bat down the order. He also added that doors aren’t closed for two veteran spinners but they couldn’t afford to drop seamer from the team.
“We had a deep discussion on off-spinner and leggie. What boiled down to was the batting option at 8 and 9. Axar had a good run with the bat this year in white ball, he played really well in IPL as well," Rohit explained.
“Door not closed on anyone. Ashwin, Washi, and Chahal were discussed but we needed some depth with batting too. And Axar can do that job for us. Also, seamers are going to play an important role in the next 2 months. So can’t afford to drop a seamer for a spinner,” he added.
Agarkar also added his take on the same topic. He said that they discussed the inclusion of Chahal in the team but the balance of the team didn’t allow them to take two wrist spinners.
“Chahal was discussed, but sometimes it is the balance of the side we had to look at. Kuldeep has been really good, Axar has done well, but to fit two wrist spinners was difficult, so Chahal had to miss out,” he said.