‘Look at Rinku, we can only pick 15’ – Ajit Agarkar reacts to criticism following Ruturaj-Abhishek snub from Sri Lanka tour

Gautam Gambhir and Ajith Agarkar. (Photo Source: Jio Cinema)

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhishek Sharma’s exclusion from India’s impending white-ball tour of Sri Lanka left a lot of people perplexed. The duo performed well on the most recent tour of Zimbabwe but couldn’t impress the selectors enough to retain their spots.

On Monday, July 22, BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar and new head coach Gautam Gambhir took part in a press conference. During the event, Agarkar was asked about the exclusion of the Ruturaj-Abhishek duo. The former India speedster reassured the Indian fans that the selection process is fair and cited the example of Rinku Singh, who was left out of India’s 15-man squad for last month’s T20 World Cup even after putting in consistent performances for the Men in Blue. Agarkar said that only 15 players can be picked in the squad and it’s tough to accommodate everyone who is playing well.

“Any player who is dropped will feel hard done by. Look at Rinku, he performed really well ahead of the T20 World Cup, but couldn’t make the cut. We can only pick 15,” Agarkar said in the press conference.

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Ruturaj was the fourth-highest run-getter for India in the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe earlier this month. In three innings, he amassed 133 runs at an average of 66.50 and a strike rate of 158.33. Also, the right-handed batter is averaging above 70 in his last seven T20I innings and has one century and two half-centuries to his name.

Meanwhile, Abhishek made his international debut during the tour and had a dramatic first couple of games. On his debut, he registered a four-ball duck but slammed 100 off 47 balls in the next game. He also picked up two wickets during the series.

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The Men in Blue will be playing three T20Is and as many ODIs in Sri Lanka on their upcoming tour. The T20I leg will be played in Pallekele before the action shifts to Colombo for the 50-over matches.