Ajit Agarkar set for crucial meet with India coach Rahul Dravid, captain Rohit Sharma over ODI World Cup

India coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma are set for a crucial selection meet with Chairman of the selectors Ajit Agarkar in the West Indies in which the trio is expected to hold discussions over the ODI World Cup which will be played in India from 5 October. At present, West Zone selector Salil Ankola is already travelling with the side in West Indies where India have have a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series. “Currently Salil Ankola is in the West Indies but he will be back after the Test series gets over. Ajit will be joining the team before start of the white ball leg,” a BCCI source in the know of things told news agency PTI on conditions of anonymity. This will be the first face-to-face meeting between Agarkar, who was named head of selectors earlier this month, and Team India management as they plan to draw the blueprint for squad strategy for the World Cup. India start their World Cup campaign with a match against Australia on 8 October in Chennai. Other crucial points on the agenda will be deciding upon the core of 20 players for the World Cup and also planning out workload and fitness issues. Interestingly, the squad for Asian Games 2022 was announced without a face-to-face discussion between Agarkar and team management. The Asian Games squad includes players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Arshdeep Singh. With the men’s cricket tournament at Asian Games running till 8 October, both these players are effectively ruled out of the World Cup. Also, Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness is expected to be discussed in great detail in the meeting in West Indies. While there are reports that the pacer is back to bowling full throttle at National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, he has still not been issued an RTP (Return to Play) certificate.