T20 WC: Skipper Rohit specifically sought four spinners in the 15-member squad

The reason the national selection committee ended up picking four spinners in the 15-member Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the United States and Caribbean was that skipper Rohit Sharma specifically asked for them.

The Indian squad includes two left-hand orthodox spinners Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and a left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is the fourth spinner in the squad. The selection of four spinners for an event to be held in the United States and Caribbean where the pitches are more suited for pace had left many experts baffled. In comparison, the Indian squad has only three pacers — Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj with Hardik Pandya expected to be available as the fourth pacer.

But on Thursday, Rohit Sharma said he had a specific technical reason and theory for seeking four spinners in the squad and said he would reveal his reasons closer to the tournament.

“We discussed a lot whether to have an off-spinner in the squad but we thought having two left-arm spinners and with Ashwin not having playing this format we decided to go with this combination. We thought a lot about Washy (Washington Sundar) and Ravichandran Ashwin,” said Agarkar. Rohit said the fact that Axar Patel has done quite well in this format and can also chip in with the bat while Ashwin has not played the format a lot, prompted them to not include an off-spinner in the squad.

“Hopefully, the captain can roll his arm over,” said Agarkar.

Asked about Hardik Pandya being picked up despite going through an indifferent form in the ongoing IPL, Agarkar said they did not find any better option for him. He said Hardik’s form was never an issue for them as they gave more weightage to the fact that he returned from a break and played all matches for Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2024 so far. He said fitness was the major issue for them when considering Pandya and Rishabh Pant and not form.

Pant has made an impressive return to the IPL after missing action for nearly 15 months because of a life-threatening accident in December 2022.