May 24 was all about India’s squad for the England Test series. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced an 18-man team, with Shubman Gill being named captain over KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah. Mohammed Shami and Shreyas Iyer found no space. Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar revealed the reason behind each selection and non-selection. He even recalled getting a call from Virat Kohli, in which he talked about his Test retirement.
Shubman Gill, India’s new captain
Shubman Gill has been appointed India’s Test captain. There were murmurs about Gill taking over from Rohit Sharma, and the BCCI confirmed it’ll be the ‘Prince’ who’ll take over. Rishabh Pant has been appointed the vice-captain. Sai Sudharsan, Arshdeep Singh, and Karun Nair are the new faces coming in.
Kohli’s call to Agarkar
May 12 was the date when Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket. However, reports suggested that Kohli had already told the BCCI about his decision a month back and they were trying to make him rethink his decision. Ajit Agarkar has confirmed that Kohli reached out to him in early April but the batter had “made up his mind” about leaving the longest format.
No Shreyas Iyer for England Tests
Shreyas Iyer has been on an incredible run in the last 9 months. International or domestic, white or red ball, he’s been doing nothing but succeeding. But he still hasn’t been able to get back into India’s Test side. Shreyas wasn’t picked for England. Agarkar feels that there just isn’t any space in the team and the batter needs to perform even better.
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Why Bumrah & KL Rahul weren’t named captain
Agarkar was asked about Gill getting picked ahead of Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul, two senior players. Bumrah was captain in India’s last match but Agarkar says that to manage his workload, he can’t be named skipper. It seems like Rahul’s name didn’t come up despite him leading the team in South Africa in Rohit Sharma’s absence.
Shami, not fit
Mohammed Shami isn’t fit enough for Test cricket. That’s exactly what Ajit Agarkar stated when asked about Shami’s omission from India’s squad for England. The pacer has looked out of rhythm for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and it seems his body isn’t ready for Test cricket just yet. In Shami’s own words, he needs to increase his workload for red-ball cricket.
Former selection grills Gambhir & Agarkar
Indian selection from 2002 to 2006, Kiran More, isn’t pleased with how the BCCI has handled the transition. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have retired but the board didn’t have anyone ready to replace Rohit as captain or a number four for Kohli. He doesn’t think India has much chance of winning in England due to being unprepared.
The post DRS, May 25: Kohli’s retirement call, Gill over Bumrah-KL Rahul & no Shami or Shreyas Iyer in squad appeared first on Inside Sport India.