Mohammad Kaif rips into Ajit Agarkar over wicket-keeper call in India’s ODI squad: ‘We forget players who are deserving’

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has criticised the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief selector Ajit Agarkar for picking Dhruv Jurel as the second wicket-keeper in the ODI squad for the Australia tour ahead of Sanju Samson. Rishabh Pant’s absence due to a fractured toe led to an opening for a wicketkeeper-batter in the squad, which has been filled by Dhruv Jurel.

The 24-year-old from Agra recently smashed a century against Australia A in an unofficial Test and also against West Indies in the first Test. The selection panel, led by Ajit Agarkar, ignored Samson as an option despite the 30-year-old already being a part of the T20I squad.

Kaif slams Agarkar for ignoring Samson for Jurel

Former Indian batter Kaif said that while Jurel is in good form, Samson is more suited to the middle-order role and the Kerala batter must have been picked in the team ahead of Jurel.

“I feel that Dhruv Jurel played really well when he scored that century (against WI). He looked very compact and organised, and he is definitely the future of Indian cricket. He has the ability to score in every match. But leaving out Sanju Samson was a wrong decision because Sanju usually plays in the lower order, around number five or six, and for that position, he is a much better option than Jurel,” Kaif said in a video.

Kaif added that in the middle overs, a batter needs to be a good player of spin, and Samson has proven that in the IPL by his performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL), missing out on a ‘deserving’ call-up.

“At that spot, you need someone who can hit sixes, especially against spinners. We saw Sanju Samson’s strength in the Asia Cup. If he had gone to Australia, he would have hit Adam Zampa for maximums. He’s in the top 10 for most sixes in the IPL, and he fits perfectly at number five or six in Australian conditions,” Kaif added.

“Right now, we tend to focus only on current form, like how well Jurel played recently, and in doing so, we forget players like Sanju who have been performing consistently and are deserving,” he said.

Samson has also lost the opening slot in T20Is to Shubman Gill, who is now the captain in DI after replacing Rohit Sharma.