'It’s the combination more than anything else', says Agarkar on Gill’s axing from T20 WC squad

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.

In a joint press conference held at the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) headquarters here, secretary Devajit Saikia, India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and chief selector Ajit Agarkar addressed the media.

Excerpts from the press conference:

On the decision to drop Gill from the World Cup squad, chief selector Agarkar said, “We’re looking at continuity; we want a keeper batting at the top. We know what a quality player Shubman is, even though he’s not found runs recently. It’s the combination more than anything else. Some people are going to miss out on a particular format because they are playing in another. Let’s 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’s needed, and hopefully by the time the WC comes by, he’ll be back to being No.1.”

“We have always kept discussing what the best combination is, or what the best way forward is. Was somebody’s position compromised? Nobody is talking about (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, he was in the last T20 WC squad and now he’s not here. So, like I said, this is the best combination that we configured for the upcoming tournament,” he added.

On Ishan Kishan making an international comeback and his selection for the World Cup after recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy heroics, Agarkar said, “He bats at the top in white-ball cricket and he’s been in good form. We felt a keeper at the top gives us more combinations.”

With a plethora of all-rounders being named in the squad, Agarkar said, “The 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’ll be decided on the day, but we’ve got a lot more options to work with.”

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’s always nice when players are performing across different tournaments, but this right now is what we believe is a formidable team."

India’s T20I skipper Suryakumar said that he was happy with the selection calls, saying that the squad looked balance. “The squad looks balanced; we’ve filled all the spots really well and have a lot of different combinations. So we’re quite happy,” he said.

On Gill’s exclusion, he said, “It’s not about his form or anything; it’s just about combinations. We wanted to have a keeper at the top, and someone like Rinku or Washington in the lower order.”

Speaking on Tilak Varma’s 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."

On the team’s top-order combination, the skipper said, “It’s 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’ve been batting well. I’ve actually been batting beautifully in the nets.”

Surya’s recent form has been a major point of discussion. When asked about the skipper added, “This 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.”

Lastly, Saikia addressed a question from the media as to why the team hadn’t announced any reserve players, as he said, "There are no standbys for this squad right now, as the tournament is taking place in our own country. Changes can and will be made accordingly, if needed."

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.