All is not well between head coach Gautam Gambhir and India cricket team chief selector Ajit Agarkar. A report has claimed that the duo had a “heated discussion” over the Champions Trophy squad. The argument was reportedly over retaining Shreyas Iyer in the team and the battle between KL Rahul & Rishabh Pant as the first-choice keeper for ODIs.
Gambhir, Agarkar argue over Iyer, Rahul & Pant
As per a Times of India report, there was a “heated selection meeting” over keeping Shreyas Iyer in the Champions Trophy squad. The report also states that there was disagreement between the duo on the second wicketkeeper’s slot.
“Selection committee chief Ajit Agarkar, while announcing the Champions Trophy squad, had claimed Pant was the first-choice wicketkeeper. As it turned out, Pant is the only player in the squad who didn’t get a game in the three ODIs in the England series. Sources indicated that there had been heated debate in the selection meeting around retaining Shreyas Iyer in the team and over the second wicketkeeper’s slot,” the report read.
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Shreyas Iyer was supposed to be dropped for IND vs ENG 1st ODI but was included in the playing XI in the last minute. Ahead of the team’s departure to Dubai, Gambhir had stated that Iyer “wasn’t supposed to be benched throughout the series”. He had explained that they had wanted to give Yashasvi Jaiswal an opportunity in the ODIs and hence was handed his debut. Iyer, meanwhile, went on to score two half-centuries, thus cementing his spot as the number 4 batter.
On the other hand, Agarkar had stated that Pant would be the first-choice wicketkeeper while announcing the provisional squad in January. However, Gambhir provided a completely different insight a few days ago. The head coach confirmed that Rahul would don the gloves in Champions Trophy while Pant had to wait for an opportunity. The report states that both skipper Rohit Sharma and Gambhir had sought for continuity as Rahul had kept wickets in all 3 ODIs vs England.
