File photo of Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant© BCCI/Sportzpics
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) finally announced the much-anticipated squad for the T20Is against England, though there continues to remain suspense over the roster for the ODI side. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee made some tough calls as it decided to leave out big names like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Rishabh Pant. As confusion erupted over their absence from the series, starting January 22, a report has claimed that the selectors decided to give them a rest after an intense Border-Gavaskar Trophy which included 5 Tests.
With the ODI series against England and the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy the primary focus, the board didn’t want to take chances over Pant, Jaiswal, and Gill’s fitness. Hence, they decided to leave them out for the 5-match T20I series against England.
“Pant, Jaiswal and Gill have been rested from this series to allow them to recover fully after a gruelling five-Test Border-Gavaskar series in Australia, for the ODIs against England and the Champions Trophy in February,” the Times of India quoted a source as saying.
While Pant and Jaiswal went on to play all 5 Test matches against Australia Down Under, Gill wasn’t a regular in the playing XI. Injury and other issues saw him miss a few matches too. Hence, his case wasn’t entirely similar to Jaiswal and Pant.
Mohammed Siraj is another player whose name wasn’t to be seen on the roster. His absence is also due to workload management issues. Mayank Yadav, India’s latest pace-bowling sensation, misses the series too, though his absence is because of a long-standing injury issue.
The BCCI has also reportedly asked for an extension as the deadline to announce the provisional Champions Trophy squad arrives. The board is said to have sought extra time before they finalise the roster. In all likeliness, the BCCI will name Champions Trophy and England ODIs squad by the end of next week.
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