Ajit Agarkar explained the management's decision to not consider KL Rahul for the T20 World Cup 2024 on Thursday. BCCI chief selector and Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma answered media questions to justify India's team selection for the upcoming mega tournament in the USA and West Indies.
KL Rahul was one of the high-profile names missing India's 15-member squad announced on Tuesday. The experienced wicket-keeper batter has been in red-hot form in the ongoing IPL 2024 but was snubbed for the World Cup selection by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee.
India picked in-form Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant ahead of the Lucknow Super Giants skipper. When asked about KL Rahul's snub, Ajit Agarkar revealed that the team management was looking for middle-order options and pointed out that Rahul has been batting as openers in the IPL.
"KL Rahul has been opening in the IPL," Agarkar said in the press conference. "We were mainly looking for middle-order options. So, we felt that Samson and Pant are better suited for that. Samson can bat anywhere in the lineup. So, it was just about what we needed and not about who was better."
Both Samson and Pant maintain a better strike rate in the IPL 2024 while KL Rahul has been criticised for his traditional approach in the powerplay. The trio has consistently scorched big runs in the tournament but the management revealed that they were looking to fill middle-order slots.
Agarkar also justified Rinku Singh's exclusion from the team with the latter only finding a place among reserve players. Rinku's snub came as a big surprise as the young finisher boasts impressive numbers in T20I cricket.
"It is probably the toughest thing we have had to discuss," Agarkar said. "He has done nothing wrong, not even Shubman Gill for that matter. It’s about combinations. There are a couple of wrist spinners included to give Rohit more options. It’s just unfortunate. He's in the reserves, so that tells you how close he came to being in the 15. But at the end of the day you can only pick 15 players in the squad."
