Harbhajan Singh condemns the selection committee for not favouring Mayank Agarwal for Asia Cup squad
What's the story
With the Indian squad for the upcoming Asia Cup announced, the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) and the selectors have already started receiving a lot of backlash, given that they have failed to impress a major number of fans with the picks they have made (or not made).
And according to latest reports, Harbhajan Singh is one of the many people who have not been satisfied with the squad. In his case, Harbhajan is most displeased about youngster Mayank Agarwal having not made the cut.
In case you didn't know...
It was last week that the BCCi published the list of cricketers who will be boarding the flight to UAE, where the event will take place from September 15th. Skipper Virat Kohli has been allowed rest, and Rohit will lead the side in his absence.
The entire squad is as follows: Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, and K Khaleel Ahmed.
Rayudu, Manish, and Jadhav are some of the most noted comebacks, whereas the likes of Rahane and Raina could not find spots for themselves. Khaleel Ahmed has been called up with the side for the first-ever time as well.
The heart of the matter
Mayank Agarwal has been in some really sublime form over the past few months, having scored heavily for Karnataka in the inter-state domestic competitions and for India-A in both foreign tours as well as in home conditions.
It was hence widely expected that he will be a part of the team, but the selection committee led by MSK Prasad had other ideas – despite Prasad himself having recently said that the cricketer is now a step away from making a cut to the Indian side.
Apparently, Harbhajan Singh found the eventual decision unfair, as he took to Twitter to question the selection policy:
Agarwal has been in some fine nick of late, most recently smashing a fine hundred against the Australia-A side in the recently concluded quadrangular series.
What's next
The side will face off against five other Asian sides including Sri Lanka and Pakistan, with the aim of defending the "Asian Champions" throne from the tournament that was last conducted in 2016.
With Virat Kohli resting and the competition being held in relatively-unknown UAE pitches, the competition may have been thrown open wider as well.