The other change in the squad saw Jitesh Sharma being dropped to make way for Rinku Singh. With Gill out of the side, Sanju Samson will return to the top of the order for India and will likely keep the gloves after his impressive performance in the recently concluded fifth T20I against South Africa on Friday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In a joint press conference held at the Board of Control for Cricket in India\u2019s (BCCI) headquarters here, secretary Devajit Saikia, India\u2019s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and chief selector Ajit Agarkar addressed the media.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Excerpts from the press conference:<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On the decision to drop Gill from the World Cup squad, chief selector Agarkar said, \u201cWe\u2019re looking at continuity; we want a keeper batting at the top. We know what a quality player Shubman is, even though he\u2019s not found runs recently. It\u2019s the combination more than anything else. Some people are going to miss out on a particular format because they are playing in another. Let\u2019s not make much of it. Over the last few years, Gill has been the No.1 batter in the world. He knows what he has to do, he knows what\u2019s needed, and hopefully by the time the WC comes by, he\u2019ll be back to being No.1.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe have always kept discussing what the best combination is, or what the best way forward is. Was somebody\u2019s position compromised? Nobody is talking about (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, he was in the last T20 WC squad and now he\u2019s not here. So, like I said, this is the best combination that we configured for the upcoming tournament,\u201d he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On Ishan Kishan making an international comeback and his selection for the World Cup after recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy heroics, Agarkar said, \u201cHe bats at the top in white-ball cricket and he\u2019s been in good form. We felt a keeper at the top gives us more combinations.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With a plethora of all-rounders being named in the squad, Agarkar said, \u201cThe inclusion of so many all-rounders gives us flexibility. There are a couple of all-rounders in Axar and Washi. We are very fortunate to have a couple of wrist spinners as well. The combination we will play depends on the team we play; it\u2019ll be decided on the day, but we\u2019ve got a lot more options to work with.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Speaking of the deserving players who missed the cut and the options unexplored, Agarkar opined, \"Even if you discuss 10 other names, this is the 15 we have picked for now. It\u2019s always nice when players are performing across different tournaments, but this right now is what we believe is a formidable team.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India\u2019s T20I skipper Suryakumar said that he was happy with the selection calls, saying that the squad looked balance. \u201cThe squad looks balanced; we\u2019ve filled all the spots really well and have a lot of different combinations. So we\u2019re quite happy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On Gill\u2019s exclusion, he said, \u201cIt\u2019s not about his form or anything; it\u2019s just about combinations. We wanted to have a keeper at the top, and someone like Rinku or Washington in the lower order.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Speaking on Tilak Varma\u2019s position, he said, \"Me and Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir) have started to feel that the left-right combination is a little overrated, but we have fixed that position in the batting order for Tilak.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On the team\u2019s top-order combination, the skipper said, \u201cIt\u2019s important to have a good start in this format. We wanted to win the PowerPlay, and when we analysed how we could do that, we decided to go ahead with this combination. You go back to your old videos where you\u2019ve been batting well. I\u2019ve actually been batting beautifully in the nets.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Surya\u2019s recent form has been a major point of discussion. When asked about the skipper added, \u201cThis patch has been a little long; everyone goes through this in their careers. I know what to do and what to work on, and we have five matches against New Zealand where I can find some form.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On the team\u2019s top-order combination, the skipper said, \u201cIt\u2019s important to have a good start in this format. We wanted to win the PowerPlay, and when we analysed how we could do that, we decided to go ahead with this combination. You go back to your old videos where you\u2019ve been batting well. I\u2019ve actually been batting beautifully in the nets.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India's Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Varma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Axar Patel (vice-captain), Arshdeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.<\/p>\r\n\r\n