On Saturday, chief selector Ajit Agarkar was in Jaipur, watching the Vijay Hazare Trophy match between Mumbai and Maharashtra. He had his former India teammate and now co-selector RP Singh for company. Agarkar was looking relaxed. The Indian squad selection for the upcoming three ODIs against New Zealand was never going to be stressful. The meeting happened online.
There was a debate on whether Ishan Kishan should be brought back to the ODI fold as well, on the heels of his T20I comeback. The Jharkhand captain started off this season’s Vijay Hazare Trophy with a blazing hundred against Karnataka, didn’t play the next few matches before coming back for the fixture against Kerala on Saturday and scoring a run-a-ball 21. Ishan has been on the selectors’ radar and will continue to be monitored. But as the team selection proved, Rishabh Pant is still ahead of him in the pecking order.
Pant has been in India’s 50-over scheme of things since the Champions Trophy last year without getting a game. No way was Agarkar’s committee going to drop him without giving the senior wicketkeeper-batter a fair chance. Also, one has to keep in mind that Shubman Gill, being the captain, is a very important part of the team management, if not the most important part of it. Outside perception doesn’t determine the pecking order in the dressing room. It is learnt that Gill, too, spoke in favour of Pant, and the skipper and the selection committee were completely aligned that Pant should continue to be KL Rahul’s back-up in the ODIs.
Now, to Mohammed Shami’s omission… The fast bowler was never in the conversation. RevSportz understands that his name wasn’t even discussed at the selection meeting. On the field, it is learnt that the selection committee and the team management aren’t yet convinced that the veteran seamer has reached the required fitness level for high-octane international cricket. Off the field, Shami probably didn’t do himself a favour by publicly calling out the chief selector — during a media interaction at Eden Gardens before Bengal’s first game in the Ranji Trophy this term — over his fitness.
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