Former Team India captain and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Sourav Ganguly expressed the surprise about the composition of the Indian team for the West Indies tour. Ganguly felt that young Shubman Gill and the experienced Ajinkya Rahane should have been included in the ODI squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against West Indies. In a Tweet massage former Team India captain said, “ There are many in the squad who can play all formats ..surprised not to see shubman gill ..Rahane in the one-day squad..”
In another tweet, Ganguly said, “Time has come for Indian selectors to pick same players in all formats of the game for rhythm and confidence.. too few are playing in all formats ..great teams had consistent players ..it’s not about making all happy but picking the best for the country and be consistent..@bcci.” Earlier on Sunday, India announced the squads for the upcoming T20Is, ODIs and Test match series against West Indies.
Meanwhile, Shubman Gill, 19, admitted he was upset at not finding a place in the senior India squads to tour the West Indies, but vowed to use the setback as motivation to work harder and score more runs. Gill, who played two one-day internationals in New Zealand earlier this year, said he was expecting a spot in at least one of the three squads named for the tour. His expectations may have stemmed from the fact that he’s been doing well for India A in their ongoing series in the Caribbean, having scored 218 runs from four innings at 54.50 to top the batting charts in his side’s 4-1 win in the one-day fixtures. “I expected to be selected for at least one of the squads,” Gill told a media channel.
“It was disappointing not to get picked but I am not going to spend time thinking over it. I’ll keep scoring runs and performing to the best of my ability to impress the selectors.” Gill’s only regret from the ‘A’ series was his failure to convert any of his three fifties to big scores. “It was a fantastic series for me, and [the] team as well since we won with a 4-1 margin. Personally, I would have liked to carry on and score at least a couple of hundreds in those fifties. But I will learn from this experience.” The prodigious Gill has been knocking on the senior selector’s doors ever since he burst on to the scene at the ICC Under 19 World Cup in New Zealand in 2018, where he scored 372 runs at 124 to help his side clinches the title.
The elegant right-hander was given a chance during India’s tour of New Zealand earlier this year, but was unable to impress, making scores of nine and seven in his two ODI outings. Gill will now focus on the three four-day matches against Windies, the first of which begins on Wednesday in Antigua. “The first Test is in Antigua, where I have played a couple of one-dayers now so I know the pitch well,” he said. “It’s not an easy track to bat, and you have to apply yourself for the first couple of hours at least before starting to play your shots. The next couple of ‘Tests’ will be in Trinidad, where I have not played before, so it will be a tough challenge,” Gill added. (UNI)
