Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar shared his opinion on the Team India squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 tournament which was announced on August 21, Monday. There were some surprising selection and omission decisions made which were debated on social media.
Tilak Varma earned his maiden India ODI call-up in the 17-member squad and Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul made their much-awaited return to the Indian team after months of being out of action due to their respective injuries and subsequent surgeries.
However, the omission of leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was the big talking point as many felt the cricketer was unlucky to miss out on several multi-nation tournaments in recent times.
Indian squad is a bit pace heavy while only three spinners in Kuldeep Yadav, Akshar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja were picked. The absence of one extra specialist spinner - be it leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, or the off-spin-bowling all-rounders Ravichandran Ashwin or Washington Sundar was widely noted.
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Legendary Sunil Gavaskar feels the squad picked by chief selector Ajit Agarkar and his team is a good one. Gavaskar lost his cool while responding to a fan query on Ashwin's omission from India's Asia Cup squad.
“Yes, there are a few players who will believe that they are lucky. But the team is selected. So don't talk about Ashwin. Stop creating controversy. This is our team now. If you don't like it, don't watch the matches but stop saying that he should have been picked or another should be there, this is a wrong mindset,” Gavaskar said on Aaj Tak.
"Yes, absolutely (this team can win the World Cup). Who else would you have picked? I don't think any player can claim that he has been an injustice to him. The experienced and in-form players have been selected in the 17-member Asia Cup squad," Gavaskar said.
BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar had revealed that while Shreyas Iyer was 100% fit, KL Rahul was carrying a fresh niggle and might miss a few matches in Asia Cup 2023.
"Let's see what his injury is like. Winning the Asia Cup is important but the goal is the World Cup. So If the team management wants KL Rahul in the World Cup squad then I think it's right that they have selected him for the Asia Cup despite a niggle. As far as India is concerned, there are 11 days to go. That's enough time to recover from a niggle.
And there are more matches as well, right till the middle of September. I think it will be fair to give KL Rahul (a chance) after all that he has done for India in the past, to allow him to recover," Gavaskar said while backing Rahul’s inclusion.
When asked about the team's chances of winning the World Cup and Asia Cup, Gavaskar said it's a good side.
"The team that has been selected for the Asia Cup is good. We should have the 15 for the World Cup from this team only. When you play for India, every match is important. You should always strive to win every match. And Asia Cup is a big tournament. But winning the World Cup is different, that can't be replicated by an Asia Cup win. So you have to look at the bigger picture. If they win Asia Cup, very good but the goal is to win the World Cup,” he signed off.
(Hindustan Times inputs)
