Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai
Over the last three days, Mumbai has received 500mm of rain. Normal life has been severely disrupted in India’s commercial capital. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a “red alert”, and educational institutions have been declared closed. The state government, too, declared a holiday on Tuesday and asked people to stay indoors. Credit to the BCCI for going ahead with the Asia Cup team selection and having a press conference that was addressed by chief selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Suryakumar Yadav.
The selection meeting, originally scheduled at 12 noon, started a couple of hours late, because BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia’s flight was delayed due to the inclement weather. Some of the selectors’ flights, too, were diverted before they eventually landed. The press conference commenced at 2.45 pm, an hour and 15 minutes behind schedule.
The debate over Shubman Gill’s inclusion was addressed early, with the batsman returning to the fold as vice-captain. “We obviously see some leadership qualities in him (Gill), and his form in England exceeded all our expectations, which is a great sign when there’s so much pressure as captain,” Agarkar told reporters.
Surya dittoed. “The last T20I series he (Gill) played (in Sri Lanka last year), I was the captain and he was the vice-captain. After that he got busy with Test cricket.”
So far so good. But with Gill back in the squad, what would be India’s opening combination at the Asia Cup? Abhishek Sharma, due to his high-impact quotient, is undroppable. Sanju Samson struggled against Jofra Archer’s pace and bounce in the home T20I series against England earlier this year. But before that, he had scored three hundreds in five innings, against Bangladesh and South Africa. Abhishek and Sanju have opened for India in the last 12 T20Is. That is likely to change.
Gill is the vice-captain and he can’t be the reserve opener. Tilak Verma being a left-hander, is set to hold on to his No. 3 position, to get the left-right combination going. Sanju runs the risk of being left out of the playing XI. The team has another wicketkeeper in Jitesh Sharma, a gun player down the order, boasting the skill set of playing the role of a finisher.
Agarkar passed the opening combination onus to the team management. “You know, the captain and the coach obviously will look at the conditions at that point, and perhaps take their call on what’s the best balance for the team,” he said. “So the XI, once we get to Dubai, we will probably have a bit more of it (team combination). But like I said, there are more options now. And Shubman has been in great form anyway over the last few months. When they get to Dubai, and depending on the opposition and the conditions, they will probably look at it and decide what the best balance is.”
Shreyas Iyer not being part of the squad raised enough eyebrows, especially after his 604 runs at a strike-rate of 175 for Punjab Kings in the IPL this season. The official line, as expounded by the chief selector: “Who can he replace? No fault of his, nor is it ours. At the moment, you can only pick 15, and he will have to wait for his chance.”
Sources in the know said Shreyas wasn’t even considered but he hasn’t been made the persona non grata. There’s a good chance of the Mumbai batsman returning to the Test fold in the home series against the West Indies in October. Shreyas has the Duleep Trophy to make a statement.
P.S. While coming out of the lift at the BCCI’s Cricket Centre at Wankhede, this correspondent bumped into a top IPL functionary. After exchanging pleasantries, his first question was: “Shreyas Iyer left out!” It was indeed difficult to join the dots.
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