Ajit Agarkar opened up on the exclusion of Ravindra Jadeja from the ODI squad for the Australia tour, saying that it was a matter of team balance rather than a reflection on his abilities.
“With regards to Jaddu, I mean, look at the moment to take two left-arm spinners to Australia is not possible. He’s clearly in the scheme of things with how good he is. But there will be some competition for places. It’s not that he’s… Of course, he was there in the Champions Trophy squad but because we took those extra spinners with the conditions there, at the moment we could only carry one and get some balance in the team with Washi [Washington Sundar] and Kuldeep [Yadav] there as well,” he said.
“And I don’t think we would need more than that in Australia (as far as) spin (is concerned). But he’s clearly in the scheme of things, Jaddu, with how good he is, what he offers us as a batter and a bowler, but particularly in the field as well. So, it’s a short series, you can’t accommodate everyone and unfortunately at the moment he’s missing out, but it’s nothing more than that,” Agarkar added.
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He also commented on Jasprit Bumrah’s workload and stated that he’s been rested for the Australia ODIs but is part of the T20I squad as well.
“We’ve already rested him for the one-day games. When we can manage his workload, we will do that. Like I said in the previous press conference, there was a month and a half or close to that five weeks or something since that Manchester Test that he played. There is always a plan. Wherever you can give him a break, you will,” he shared.
“Because we all know how important he is. But we’ve also got to see what’s in the interest of the team. And when we need him to play, he’s always available. But we will look after not just him. Siraj bowls a lot of overs as well. There are other guys who do play test cricket who will end up having a lot of bowling to do. So we will try and manage all the seniors so that we minimise the risk of injuries,” Ajit Agarkar concluded.
