ICC T20 World Cup: Ajit Agarkar feels there should be no changes to Team India’s squad unless there is an injury concern.
The Indian Premier League’s (IPL 2021) UAE leg has created a few headaches for the Indian selectors and team management. The Indian squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup was announced on September 8, 11 days before the IPL resumed in the UAE. Since then, several players selected in the squad have failed to perform in the T20 league. This is a cause of major concern for the Indian team management as the World Cup will also be played in similar conditions in UAE and Oman. The likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, and Rahul Chahar, who were included in the team, have not fared well, which has also led to a major dip in the form of two-time defending IPL champions Mumbai Indians.
On the other hand, players like Shikhar Dhawan, Sanju Samson, and Yuzvendra Chahal have thrived. These seasoned players are being seen as surprise omissions by many and with the ICC allowing changes in the squad till October 10, there could be a chance that the final squad is tinkered with. Even reserve players like Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar have looked in good touch in comparison to someone like Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
But former India paceman Ajit Agarkar feels there should not be any changes to the squad unless there is an injury concern.
“In my opinion, once you have picked the squad for World Cup – barring injury – I don’t think you should make any changes. Yes, there are guys at the moment who are not in their great form, but it only takes one inning – whether it’s bowling or batting – to change that form around, and that could still happen before the end of the IPL,” Agarkar said while speaking exclusively on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.
“So, if you think that’s the best 15 you’ve picked going to the World Cup, my personal opinion, I would stick with it, because you have got to show faith in people even when things are not looking so good because things can turn around very quickly,” Agarkar added.
Here is India’s full squad for the ICC WT20:
Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (VC), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd Shami.
Standby players – Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.