Hardik Pandya snubbed as Agarkar’s ‘four spinners’ T20WC call questioned ahead of India’s warm-up game vs Bangladesh

India captain Rohit Sharma’s strategic approach was evident in his selection of four spinners – all-rounder Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja, and wristspinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal – for the T20 World Cup. This decision, announced in late April, sparked a flurry of questions. However, as the team prepared for their warm-up game against Bangladesh at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, Rohit and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar faced a fresh verdict on their T20 World Cup call.

Former India manager and Tamil Nadu left-arm spinner Sunil Subramanian, who also coaches R Ashwin, offered a compelling viewpoint. He suggests that India may have included one spinner too many in the World Cup squad. His proposal to drop vice-captain Hardik Pandya for left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed and Axar for middle-order batter Rinku Singh is based on the belief that it would have brought better balance to the side.

“India may have picked one spin-bowling allrounder too many. Rinku Singh for Axar and Khaleel Ahmed for vice-captain Hardik would have balanced the side better. There is no way both wrist spinners will play, especially in Nassau County in New York. It is a mickey mouse ground with the straight boundary being 55 metres only. Also, it is a drop-in pitch. Against Pakistan, they may play with only one spinner and that could be Jadeja as they may want to pack the side with pacers who can execute yorkers,” he told Times of India.

One of the significant aspects of India’s team selection for the World Cup was the return of the famous ‘KulCha’ combination, as the duo of Kuldeep and Chahal are called. They played 15 T20I matches together, including the four matches on the tour of the West Indies last year. While India will be hoping the pair brings the same level of success, Subramanian does not see the two feature in the same XI during the World Cup.

“Only if they are in a must-win situation. If Hardik is unable to bowl four overs and if one of the pacers gets hit, that may happen. But only in the West Indies leg of the tournament. The only other way to play both wrist spinners is by dropping Jaiswal and opening with Kohli and Rohit. They will not do that. They will err on the side of caution,” Subramanian explained.

While these remarks only add to the existing speculations around Agarkar’s strategy, only time will tell whether India were actually right in picking four spinners for the World Cup.