Watch: What Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar said on India Test squad for England – press conference in full | Cricket News – Times of India

The BCCIon Saturday introduced Shubman Gill as the brand new captain of the Indian Test group for the upcoming 5-match Test collection in opposition to England. Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been named vice-captain.This comes after Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin confirmed their retirement from the longest format. Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar addressed a press conference after the squad announcement. He confirmed that Virat Kohli had conveyed to the BCCI in April that he not wished to play Test cricket. “He has played for a long time. He felt he couldn’t give to Test cricket what he has so far. So we respected that. That’s why he wasn’t picked,” Agarkar said. Rohit Sharma, had additionally communicated his choice to step away from the format. “When we picked the squad, we got the information that Rohit was not going to continue. So it made our job easier,” Agarkar said.

Asked why Jasprit Bumrah was not made captain regardless of main in England earlier, Agarkar said, “Just trying to manage his workload. Five Test matches. Don’t want to burden him with other things.” Agarkar additionally confirmed KL Rahul’s return to the Test group however dominated out any management function for him. “KL has just returned. We didn’t really consider that. We felt Gill is the right guy.” The chairman defined the rationale behind naming Gill as captain. “We felt he is someone who can take the team forward. Every decision is a unanimous one when selectors sit. He has been with the team for a while. Every guy takes some time to settle.”

Agarkar clarified that the taking part in XI choices can be left to the group administration. “The team management will sit with the captain and coach and decide the playing XI. That’s how it should be.” Asked in regards to the presence of a number of openers in the squad, together with Jaiswal, Sudharsan, Easwaran and Gill, Agarkar responded: “Let the team management decide who plays where. There are a couple of options. Only 11 can play. Some players will miss out.” Agarkar additionally responded to a question on together with Rishabh Pant as vice-captain regardless of his latest return. “He’s been with the team for a while. We felt it was the right time. There’s a lot of experience in the team.”Quiz: Who’s that IPL participant? On Mohammed Shami’s absence, Agarkar said, “He’s not fit. He was part of the WTC final but then had a setback. The medical team has not cleared him. Workload is not where it should be. He will hopefully be back soon.” About the presence of a number of all-rounders, together with Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy, Agarkar said, “There are five Tests, that’s why you need options. There are some India A performances. Some roles might be different. If you play one spinner or three seamers, you need backup.”

On whether or not this squad represents a transition, Agarkar remarked, “You don’t look at it that way. Some guys have made themselves unavailable. That’s why you have to move forward. Some of these guys have performed for India A or domestically. There’s no transition; this is the best squad we picked.” On the inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav, Agarkar said, “We wanted two spinners. He’s been bowling well. If you’re going to play two, we felt Kuldeep and Jadeja are the two.” Regarding Karun Nair’s return, Agarkar said, “He has got runs in the last season. There are only so many slots in the middle order.” Agarkar said there was no communication hole with any participant. “All the players have been informed. That’s how selection works. Some players will miss out. That doesn’t mean they’ve done anything wrong.” The full squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain and wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.