Jadeja not dropped, Hardik's fitness was a concern says Ajit Agarkar

Selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar has clarified the reasoning behind certain key decisions taken ahead of India's upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka.

Hardik Pandya, who had served as the vice-captain during India's victorious T20 World Cup campaign recently, had been overlooked for the top job with Suryakumar Yadav taking over captaincy instead following the retirement of Rohit Sharma. As previously reported by Cricbuzz, Agarkar cited Pandya's fitness as the prime reason behind the decision.

"Obviously, you want a captain that is likely to play all the games. We think he's [Suryakumar Yadav] a deserving candidate, over time we'll see how he develops into the role," Agarkar said in a press conference on Monday (July 22).

"As regards to Hardik, he's still a very important player for us. That's what we want, him to be the player that can be. Those sorts of skillsets are very difficult to find, what he has. Fitness obviously has been a challenge for him over the last few years and that then becomes a little bit more difficult for a coach or even us selectors...

"We've got a bit more time till the next T20 World Cup where we can look at a few things and it's not rushed at the moment. We want him... like I said, he's an important player for us and hopefully his performances are more important. I mean the fitness is a clear challenge and we want someone who is likely to be available more often than not. Again, after saying all that, I think Surya has got the necessary qualities you need to succeed as a captain," explained Agarkar.

"We've got a little bit more time. Since I've come, there's been a 50-over World Cup almost followed by the 20-over World Cup. Like I said, fitness is a concern. Not just that, we also feel that Surya has the necessary qualities to be a good captain. Hopefully, we see that over time. Two years is a long time. So at least, it gives us a bit more of a chance, to try and look at some things differently. And the main thing is we want the guys who are available all the time. In this way, we also feel we can manage Hardik a little bit better. Because like I said, he's an important player for us. We've seen even in this World Cup, his performances both with the bat and ball are important. And that is more important to the team than anything else," he said.

With the change being a massive one at the top, Agarkar also mentioned that Hardik had been kept in the loop about it. "We speak to every player... he's part of the team anyway, it's not like he's been left out. We speak to every player if their roles are changed and yeah, he's been spoken to."

The change in reins, Agarkar explained, had came about after a fair bit of thinking even before the World Cup.

"I don't think any player takes it for granted anywhere. Any time you try and play, your place is on the line, you want to perform. These discussions don't happen overnight. We sort of discussed that over the last few months leading up to the World Cup as well. So these chats had happened before as well.

"It's not an overnight thing where you just decide that someone should be captain or should not be captain. Obviously, a lot of thought goes in. You get a lot of feedback from the dressing room as well, what sort of qualities that you are looking for. And the biggest thing is that the captain should be on the park, more often than not. That's a prerequisite really. Hopefully, Surya does that and so far there's never been any concern with his T20 batting anyway," he said.

Before the T20 World Cup, Hardik had missed out on the India-Afghanistan series in January which saw Rohit Sharma return as the T20I captain and eventually continue until the World Cup win. KL Rahul, who Agarkar reiterated has not been a part of the T20I team for a while, was once the vice-captain of the Test team before the role was taken off midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2023. Rahul had, however, also led India in an ODI series later against South Africa later the same year but finds himself usurped by Shubman Gill as the vice-captain of the 50-overs team. Previously this position had been held by the likes of Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah as well at various stages.

Between these instances, Agarkar had taken over as the chairman of the selection committee in July 2023. "I wasn't there when KL [Rahul] was superseded, I wasn't the selector then," said Agarkar before breaking down his reasoning further.

Gill, who recently led a second-string India side to a series win in Zimbabwe, was named vice-captain of both the ODI and T20I squad. And he received words of appreciation from Agarkar as a potential option for the future.

"[Shubman] Gill... like I said, you look at some of the feedback you get. We've got a chance to reset the button a little bit, we've got a little more time to plan. We want to try and see... This time [in the] T20s, frankly when Hardik did get injured, [it] was a little bit of a challenge. At that point Rohit wasn't playing.

"That Rohit was still around made our lives a lot easier and he could come and lead. We don't want that situation going forward again. Shubman is a guy, we feel again, is a three-format player firstly and seems to show a lot more qualities over the last year or so that we hear from the dressing room. And that's what we want to try and have somebody who can also learn from a couple of the senior guys that are there, Surya in this instance or Rohit who is still around. So we don't face the same challenges of trying to look for a captain in case there are injuries or loss of form somewhere. That's the idea there.

"He's shown some decent leadership qualities and we want to try and get him the experience that he can going forward. There are no guarantees in life but at this point, that's the thought," he reasoned.

Jadeja not dropped from ODIs

The squad selection also threw open a can of worms with senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja's name being missed from the ODI squad despite his useful contributions in the 2023 World Cup campaign at home. Agarkar took the press conference as an opportunity to clarify that the decision was related to workload management rather than performance issues.

"We know what Jaddu has done. He's had a terrific 50-over World Cup. No, [he is] not at all dropped. All options are open," he said. Either of them [Jadeja or Axar Patel] wouldn't have played all three games if we'd taken both. There's a big Test season coming up, where he's likely to feature in a lot of the Tests. I don't think three games would have mattered. I think we probably should have clarified after the selection that he's not been dropped. He's within the scheme of things and very important as a player," said Agarkar.

Agarkar also said that the non-selection of some other key performers over the years, including the likes of Rinku Singh or Sanju Samson, who scored a hundred in his last ODI outing, was simply 'unfortunate'.

"I mean every player who is left out feels hard done by. Our challenge is to pick only 15. To try and get the best balance possible, someone is likely to miss out. Sometimes they've had some decent performances in recent times but you've got to see who is picked ahead of them. Are those guys not deserving of their place? If that's the thing, then there are things to discuss.

"But at this stage, I mean, we had an opportunity to give some of those guys a go in the Zimbabwe series, which was good. So we have enough depth, if tomorrow there's a loss of form from the players that are playing or there are injuries... It's tough. Rinku for no fault of his missed the World Cup. He had a terrific [run] in the T20s leading into the World Cup. It's sometimes just the way it goes.

"Unfortunately for us as well, it's difficult to fit everyone in the 15. As tough as it is, that's generally the life of a player. That's why when you get an opportunity, you try and put up performances, so as soon as somebody who is ahead of you is not quite up to the mark or if there's an injury there, you are ready to be picked. You can take a lot of names, you've taken three names but there are a lot of names and it's tough on them. But it's the reality. We can only pick 15," he said.

Meanwhile, the return of Rishabh Pant to the T20I team and the thought of inducting him back into the longer formats at the international level threw another spanner in the works, pointed out Agarkar, which also meant that the ODI middle-order had no room for T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav.

"We haven't discussed Surya for ODIs at this point. Shreyas is back, KL is back. They had great World Cups. Rishabh is back as well, so there is some quality through that middle order. So no, I think at this point Surya is [just] a T20 player.

"Regards to Rishabh again, before his unfortunate accident, he's been a key player for us. Now that he's back, like I said, you want to get him around the group again, playing again. KL has been terrific in one-day cricket. We've seen he had a great World Cup as well. Unfortunately someone had to miss out, and in this instance it was Sanju.

"Look, these guys will have to keep performing, keep getting runs. Otherwise you know there is another quality player waiting. Big Test season, we obviously feel these two will have a huge role to play and to get Rishabh playing again... like you said he's only played T20 cricket. To get him to play 50-over cricket will be another step forward. Hopefully, he'll keep building on what he's done so far."