How Ajit Agarkar’s bold stance against Gautam Gambhir helped reshape Team India - Report

India head coach Gautam Gambhir deserves all the praise for guiding his troops to glory in the shortest format of the game. The Men in Blue scripted and defeated history by becoming the first team to win 3 T20 World Cup titles and also the first ones to defend their title.

While Gautam Gambhir was only in the limelight, tough decisions were being taken behind closed doors under the leadership of Ajit Agarkar, chairman of the BCCI selection committee. Agarkar took some very bold decisions, things that most selectors before him would have hesitated to do.

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Leaving Shubman Gill out of the T20I squad last minute and making Suryakumar Yadav the captain in the shortest format, Agarkar continuously made headlines with decisions that were not following the regular selection patterns. Some went against him and others in the cricket circle looked at the logic and conviction behind controversial decisions and agreed with him.

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The most controversial decision was leaving out Gill from the World Cup squad after naming him the vice-captain of India in the T20 format. The selectors opted for Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh instead. The Indian Express said that Gambhir headed team management was behind Gill's inclusion but Agarkar did not give way and rejected the suggestion.

"Your opinion could differ from mine," he told the management. "We still think he's a quality player. Someone has to miss out, and it's him - not because he isn't good enough. Fortunately, Indian cricket has options."

Similarly, when Rohit Sharma retired from the format, it looked like Hardik Pandya will be the successor. Agarkar, however, strongly stood up for Suryakumar Yadav. Fellow selectors at that moment - Subrato Banerjee, S Sharath, Salil Ankola, and SS Das - agreed to the decision.

"One of the main issues discussed was that you want a captain who is likely to play all the games," he said. "We think he is a deserving candidate."

The return of Ishan Kishan

Agarkar also roped in Ishan Kishan on the basis of his domestic cricket performance ignoring past controversies - withdrawal from South Africa series, central contract snub, and more.

"He bats at the top in white-ball cricket. He has been in good form. He has played before for India," Agarkar explained. "He wasn't in the team because Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel were ahead of him - two very good players. Nothing else."

At the end, Gambhir acknowledged his Agarkar's role, dedicating the World Cup win to him:

"I think I should dedicate this trophy to Ajit Agarkar, because he does take a lot of flak, and I'm thankful for the honesty he has worked with."

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