Published: Oct 05, 2017, 01:19 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 05, 2017, 01:19 PM (IST)
A lot of questions have risen over Ajinkya Rahane’s omission for the three-T20I series against Australia. KL Rahul, on the other hand, retains his spot despite not playing a single match in the recently concluded ODI series against the same opposition. In a series that India won 4-1, Rahane scored 4 consecutive fifties. However, Rahane’s coach Pravin Amre was vocal about the in-form’s exclusion.
Adding more fuel to the fire, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar questioned the CCI selection committee and asked them for a valid proof on dropping Rahane. Against West Indies, Rahane was adjudged Man of the Series for scoring 336 runs at 67.20, including 3 fifties and a century.
Asking for reasons behind Rahane’s exclusion, Gavaskar told NDTV, “Rahane’s omission is not understandable. He just scored four consecutive fifties (in the ODI series) – why is he not in the (T20I) team? Now, KL Rahul is a fine batsman. But he did not play a single game in the five one-dayers. So why is he in the (T20I) team and not Rahane who scored four half-centuries. Some reason has to be given by the selection committee to say that Rahul is such a better player than Rahane in the one-day game, in the T20 format.”
Amre, too, expressed his disappointment to cricketnext, “Ajinkya is a like a soldier who is waiting to serve the country whenever picked. Also, I think he has matured a lot as a player and his statement after the announcement of the squad for the T20I series against Australia shows that he is not insecure of his position in the team. While I am not someone who is in a position to say if it is the right or wrong call by the selectors, what I can say is that he is already preparing for the upcoming series against New Zealand and will look to better the performance he put up against the Aussies.”
India and Australia will clash in the first of the three-T20I series at Ranchi on October 7.
