Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of selectors, said that Shreyas Iyer has done nothing wrong while addressing the media, adding that they could only pick 15. Fair point. I don’t have a single problem with the 15 that they have picked. But then, he went on to announce five standbys, and that included a third wicketkeeper in Dhruv Jurel. In all honesty, I can’t get my head around the inclusion of a third wicketkeeper for a three-week-long tournament, at the expense of Shreyas, who is one of the very best we have.
The truth is that more than Shubman Gill’s return as vice-captain, correctly predicted by Subhayan Chakrabarty on RevSportz on August 10, the focal point for me in today’s selection has to be Shreyas. How does he not even feature in the 20 players picked? Are we suggesting that he isn’t good enough to feature in the top 20 T20 players in the country? Are we not giving flame to people saying that there is bias? Are we not giving wind to conspiracy theories?
READ: Gill back in T20I squad, no room for Jaiswal or Shreyas
Spare a thought for Shreyas. He played a fantastic IPL. He batted exceedingly well and played some match-winning knocks at a very good strike-rate. He also played some superb innings in the Champions Trophy in Dubai and is a very good player of spin. By no yardstick can he be overlooked unless there is something that we don’t know. And when you pick a third wicketkeeper in your list of standbys, you do give rise to suspicion and open yourself up to questions.
The truth is Shreyas will feel hard done by. He will feel gutted and not know what wrong he has done. He will not know what more he can do to make it back to the team. And if this is the World Cup team in essence, to think that Shreyas isn’t part of your scheme for a home tournament is perhaps not fair. As I said, that’s my key takeaway and not a very pleasant one.
For more updates on the Asia Cup, follow RevSportz