MUMBAI, India (AP) — Middle-order batter Shivam Dube was the only IPL-inspired selection for his power-hitting prowess.
Dube’s inclusion and the choice of four spinners, including the IPL’s highest wicket-taker in Yuzvendra Chahal, meant there was no room for left-hand batter Rinku Singh.
Singh made his T20 debut last year and has an average of 89 and a strike rate of 176.23 in 23 matches. His exclusion was heavily criticized in the media and social media.
“Rinku was unlucky, it wasn’t his fault,” Agarkar said. “We already had enough batting options and we needed the extra bowling options for our skipper to try out different combinations. It was the toughest call we made.”
Sharma said he wanted four spinners, two of them allrounders, because India’s four group matches — including the marquee match with Pakistan on June 9 — all had morning starts to tie in with primetime TV at home. To Sharma, India’s three pacers and four spinners were the answers to questions posed on their tours of the Caribbean in 2022 and 2023.
“We’ve played a lot of cricket there (in the Caribbean). We know what the conditions are like,” Sharma said. “With morning starts at 10:30 a.m., there’s a little bit of technical aspect involved in this.”
