
Ajit Agarkar, BCCI come under heavy fire for ‘backwards' Asia Cup selections: ‘No chance of winning with this bunch'
Speaking on his Youtube channel, the outspoken former opener didn't bite his tongue as he took some of the players chosen to travel to the UAE.
'We might win the Asia Cup with this team, but there is no chance of winning the T20 World Cup with this bunch,' said Srikkanth, immediately questioning some of the calibre of players India opted for. 'Are you going to take this team to the World Cup? Is this the preparation for the T20 World Cup, which is hardly six months away?'
India will be defending champions at next year's T20I World Cup at home and in Sri Lanka, and as such will be early favourites. While the starting lineup looks well-rounded and extremely powerful, Srikkanth's contentions began with the bench options, with the backups not being up to the mark.
Srikkanth names names regarding his criticism
Srikkanth also argued that nominating Axar Patel as vice-captain only to remove him again indicates that the forward progress essential to the team is not taking place.
'They have gone backwards. Axar Patel has been axed from vice-captaincy. I don't know how Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube and Harshit Rana have come in,' said Srikkanth.
Further, he went on to argue that the BCCI's selectors couldn't seem to make their mind up about what factors to value, with the selections of that trio despite a quiet run in the IPL really surprising the former opener. 'IPL is considered the main criteria for selection, but the selectors seem to have considered performances before that,' he said.
Dube, Rinku, and Rana did have a quiet IPL, with the main selection disappointment for most fans being the non-inclusion of Shreyas Iyer, who had a historic season as both batter and skipper of the Punjab Kings. Along with Iyer, the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal were also looked over, with the choice to opt for the incumbent international players being made rather than unsettling too many of the personnel ahead of the Asia Cup.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hindustan Times
21 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Savita out of Indian women's Asia Cup squad with ankle injury
Seasoned Indian women's hockey team goalkeeper Savita Punia has been ruled out of the Asia Cup with an ankle injury she sustained during the European leg of the Pro League. The 35-year-old has been replaced by Bansari Solanki, who made her debut in the Pro League in June. The Indian women's hockey team. (Hockey India) Making a comeback into the team are Udita Duhan, Nikki Pradhan, Mumtaz Khan and Sangita Kumari, who is scheduled to play her first match since November 2024. The Asia Cup will take place in Hangzhou, China from September 5-14 and is of utmost importance for the Salima Tete-led squad as the winner will qualify for the 2026 World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium. The 20-member team also includes goalkeeper Bichu Devi Kharibam. The defence will be marshalled by Nikki, Udita, Manisha Chauhan, Jyoti, Suman Devi Thoudam and Ishika Chaudhary. The midfield has Neha, Salima, Lalremsiami, Sharmila Devi, Sunelita Toppo and Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke. The forwards are Navneet Kaur, Sangita, Mumtaz, Deepika, Beauty Dungdung and Rutaja Dadaso Pisal. 'We are excited about the squad we have selected. The group has been training with great intensity and we have tried to strike the right balance between experienced campaigners and young talent. Our focus will be on playing an aggressive and disciplined brand of hockey and we believe this team has the capability to compete strongly against the best in Asia,' India chief coach Harendra Singh said. 'The Women's Asia Cup is not only a prestigious continental championship but also a direct qualifying event for the World Cup. With the winner earning an automatic berth, the stakes are extremely high. Every match will test our composure, fitness and tactical execution. The players are motivated to rise to the occasion, and we are confident of delivering performances that will make India proud.' India have been drawn in Pool B with Thailand (September 5), defending champions Japan (September 6) and Singapore (September 8). Pool A has hosts China, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia and South Korea. The top two from each group will qualify for the Super 4s.


Indian Express
21 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Washington Sundar, the powerplay specialist, was not picked for Asia Cup
In the 2017 Natwest Blast, Kent came up with a novel tactic. Darren Stevens, the cult hero, would take the new ball, bowl an over of medium-pace and then disappear. In his last four outings for India, Washington Sundar performed a similar role. He would turn up in the fourth over, grab a wicket with his offspin, stifle batsmen, and not bowl thereafter. Powerplay bowling has been his USP since international debut—he took the new ball in his first game, and in 51 subsequent outings, has bowled the first or second over twenty times, and operated inside the power-play in other eleven instances. But for the upcoming Asia Cup, India tore the old template apart. Not that Washington's prowess has waned, the lanky off-spinner had nabbed a wicket in his first over in three of his last four T20Is, but that India's stable is so well-stocked with thoroughbreds that they could look beyond him. He would feel it unfortunate, but the modern T20 world is a ruthless space. So rather than extra spin-bowling all-rounder, they sought other dimensions. The left-arm wrist spin of Kuldeep Yadav, the medium-pace all-round utility of Shivam Dube and the lower-order fizz of Rinku Singh. Conviction stems from the power-play nous of Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy. These are names that roll off tongue instantly when discussing power-play spinners. But the pair are quite prolific. Axar is the fifth highest wicket-taker in IPL power-plays (19 wickets from 594 balls), and has 37 wickets in both T20Is and IPL combined. Varun has 20 scalps from 474 balls and a staggering economy rate of 6.54. Washington's numbers are not inferior (33 wickets from 750 balls and an economy rate of 7.4), but the selectors and team management perceived that he is redundant. The leap of faith in international games came from Varun's recent exploits in the first six overs. In his last three games, he has bowled splendidly in this phase, be it plucking wickets or shackling the scoring. In Rajkot against England, he bowled the sixth over and gave only three runs, straight after an over of Washington that cost 15 runs. In Pune, he conceded five and in Mumbai he ejected the dangerous Jos Buttler. Axar regularly contributed an over or two in this passage in the T20 World Cup. So the signs for overlooking Washington Sundar, even if the margins were threadbare, were there. The values they bring are different. Washington, with his height and high-arm action, generates bounce. The new ball has a tendency to skid on and keep relatively low, thus creating an effect of variable bounce. He doesn't offer them the width to free-swing down the ground. He is an off-spinner difficult to line up, through the leg-side. But Chakaravarthy has startling variations, and he could spin the ball both ways. The carrom-ball zips and, sometimes, spins more than with the older ball. He slips in the seam-up variations—he plied medium pace at the start of his career—that tucks away. His toolkit of varieties mean that the batsmen cannot premeditate strokes, despite the field restrictions. His methods keep evolving. Not satisfied with the deception methods he possessed, he sharpened his over-spin part. 'After the 2021 World Cup, I analysed my bowling and what I found was I was bowling more sidespin, and I wasn't being able to beat the batsmen through sidespin,' he said during the England series. 'I worked out that I need to beat them with bounce. Then I started working with overspin. If it bounces more, the chances are I can get it to spin more,' he added. Dip and drop are closer allies than before as well. The shinier ball aids Axar's bowling too. Often the ball skids into the right-hander's pads, but with the new ball, he straightens the odd one to keep the batsman wary. His mindset, he said after winning the man of the match cheque for his 3/23 against England in the World Cup semifinal, which included overs and wickets in the powerplay, was 'to put the ball in the right areas.' The wickets of Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow illustrate the crux of Axar's bowling. Batsmen assume they could slug him through mid-wicket with the angle. So did Bairstow, but he had pushed the ball quicker and from a slightly lower release point. Bairstow's hoick swiped thin air and was bowled. The opposite trick fooled Buttler, who was prematurely into a reverse-sweep and managed only a glove to the wicket-keeper. He is exceptional at bowling what the spin coaches call the 'cutting' ball. A shortish, fastish ball with fielders guarding the square boundaries. Often, a single ensued. Two other factors could have influenced the downgrading of Washington. A) Kuldeep Yadav's return means that the spin-gang is too packed for comfort. India already have a standard finger-spinner in Axar. Moreover, Kuldeep bowling in the middle overs could free up Varun and Axar to contribute more overs with the new balls. B) India is getting smarter. Rather than preserving the best spinner for the middle overs, as had been the trend, they are flashing the trump card straightaway. The logic that any spinner could get away with a cheap powerplay over, feeding on batsmen's early circumspection, has become outdated. Employing spin in powerplay is no longer a left-field ploy, rather a cliche. So the progressive teams search for upgrading the concept, as an aggressive wicket-taking weapon than a pure defensive one. And no other tribe in the game has embraced T20's perpetual quest for competitive edges than the spinners. Washington was merely an unfortunate casualty of this pursuit for spin-bowling cutting edge and quest for varieties. **** Axar Patel Wickets: 37; balls: 894; economy rate 7.72 Varun Chakaravarthy Wickets: 20; balls: 474; economy rate: 6.54 Washington Sundar Wickets: 33; balls: 750; economy rate: 7.4


Hans India
21 minutes ago
- Hans India
Rahane predicts Gill and Abhishek to open the batting for India in Asia Cup
New Delhi: With Shubman Gill returning to the squad for the 2025 Men's T20 Asia Cup, the focus has shifted to what would be India's opening combination for the tournament. Veteran Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane feels that in his opinion, Gill and Abhishek Sharma are likely to open the batting. On a personal note, Rahane said he would like Sanju Samson to retain his position as the opener. Gill's return to the India T20I team as the vice-captain means that Samson may be relegated to the back-up opening role. In that case, Jitesh Sharma might slot in the middle-order and take up keeping duties. 'As a team, I think they have a very good problem to solve for the opening pair. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma have done really well in that slot. But Shubman is back in the team. I'm sure he is most likely to open with Abhishek Sharma.' 'Personally, I would like to see Sanju Samson in the team because he has done really well - a very confident guy, very good team man, and I feel that is a very important thing. Sanju is a great team man, but that's a very good problem to have for the team management.' 'My opinion is that Sanju Samson will sit out. Though, as I said, I would like him to play and see in the playing eleven. But Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma will open the innings for the team,' said Rahane on his YouTube channel on Thursday. Rahane also expressed that the eleventh player will be dependent on the conditions on offer in Dubai, the venue where India will play Group A games against the UAE and Pakistan. 'Eleventh player will be depending on the wicket, because we are playing in Dubai, and depending on the wicket and conditions, it will be either Varun Chakaravarthy or Harshit Rana.' 'But if India wants to go with an extra batter who can bowl, then Shivam Dube is an option, who can give you those 2-3 overs probably. If Hardik Pandya is going to bowl 4 overs, then you don't want to go with an extra batter. Going with an extra bowler will really help the Indian team. But that's a good problem to have. Depending on the conditions, they have plenty of options who can fill that slot.' Rahane signed off by expressing his view on the omission of Shreyas Iyer from the Asia Cup squad. 'There is a lot of talk about Shreyas' omission from the Asia Cup team. I am sure he must be really disappointed considering the IPL he had, which was fantastic and also in 50-over domestic matches he has played, he has done really well in whatever opportunities he has got.' 'I can completely understand from the team management's point of view that they can only pick 15 players and have to see the balance of the team. The only thing I want to see and know that if proper communication from selectors and team management with Shreyas Iyer is there.' 'He is an important member of the team, and I am sure that in the coming years or the future, he is going to be part of the T20 format as well. So, the communication is the key from the selectors to Shreyas Iyer,' he concluded.