"Too Good A Player To Miss Out": Ex-BCCI Selector Questions Ajit Agarkar Over Massive Omission
Former BCCI chief selector MSK Prasad commented over the notable omission of a star batter from India's ODI squad for the Afghanistan series.
- Yashasvi Jaiswal was left out of India's ODI team for Afghanistan by Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI selection committee
- Ex-BCCI chief selector MSK Prasad questioned the decision to not include Jaiswal even in the India A side
- "Jaiswal should have been picked for India. Should've gone to Sri Lanka instead of sitting at home": Prasad
One of the most surprising omissions from Team India's squad for the Afghanistan series was Yashasvi Jaiswal being left out of the ODI team. Captain Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma were named by the Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI selection committee as the designated openers for the three-match ODI series, with the returning Ishan Kishan likely to be the back-up. That means Jaiswal, who scored a century in his last ODI, did not find a spot. Former BCCI chief selector MSK Prasad questioned the decision by Ajit Agarkar's committee to not include Jaiswal in any squad.
MSK Prasad pointed out the difficult nature of leaving out a talented player like Jaiswal, but said that he should've at least been included in the India A side for a tri-series in Sri Lanka in June.
"He (Jaiswal) should have been picked for the India A squad. It is unfortunate. With Rohit (Sharma) and Shubman (Gill) there, you understand that he may not get game time, but he should have gone to Sri Lanka instead of sitting at home," Prasad said, speaking to Times of India.
"He is too good a player to miss out on any format. He should not treat this as a disappointment," he added.
Prasad further said that being left out of the ODI squad is likely to make Jaiswal "tougher".
"These things happen in cricket. When I was chairman of selectors, we could not find a place for Shreyas Iyer despite him doing extraordinarily well in domestic cricket. Jaiswal is already a tough boy, and this will only make him tougher," he stated.
Gill and Rohit's success at the top of the order has meant that Jaiswal has played only four ODIs till date, scoring a century in his most recent game, against South Africa in December.
His omission means that Jaiswal's only international appearance in June is likely to be the one-off Test between India and Afghanistan.
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Afghanistan