T20 World Cup: The national selectors left out wicketkeeper-batter K.L Rahul from the 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup because there was no spot for him and he did not fit the combination, said Ajit Agarkar, chairman of the national selection committee on Thursday.
As the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup, set to start in the United States and the Caribbean on June 1, the decisions taken by the selection committee raised many questions.
The main question was related to the non-selection of K.L Rahul, the Lucknow Super Giants captain who is currently among the top five scorers in the Indian Premier League with 406 runs to his name. Rahul is quite experienced and has been a consistent performer in the format as captain of Lucknow Super Giants. Though Rishabh Pant was considered a sure-shot selection after he made an impressive return from a 15-month injury break at the IPL. The selectors, however, opted for Kerala batter Sanju Samson as the second option ahead of Rahul.
Ajit Agarkar said they could not find a place for K.L Rahul in the middle-order because of the presence of Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya.
"We feel that Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson were more suited for the World Cup. KL Rahul was not fitting in the combination, there was no slot for him," said Ajit Agarkar on Thursday.
Skipper Rohit Sharma said the previous selection committee had deliberated a lot on the need to concentrate on selecting players based on the upcoming ICC tournament. He said that they had decided to concentrate on players needed for the specific format and decided to give chances to players based on that rationale. He said that they had picked up Shivam Dube based on his performance in the IPL. Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya as allrounders and Suryakuamr Yadav as the fulcrum of the middle-order, hence there was no spot for Rahul.