Asia Cup: Harbhajan Singh Slams Indian Selectors, Says "Different Rules For Different People"
India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Wednesday took to Twitter and expressed surprise at the selectors' decision to not include Mayank Agarwal for the upcoming Asia Cup 2018. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday decided to rest India skipper Virat Kohli while handing over captaincy to Rohit Sharma for the Asia Cup, taking place barely four days after a gruelling tour of England. The 16-member squad will be led by Rohit Sharma, with Rajasthan left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed getting his maiden senior team call-up. Despite scoring more runs across formats than anybody in Indian domestic cricket and A team matches, Mayank Agarwal did not find a place in India squad for the mega tournament.
Surprised by Mayank Agarwal's exclusion, Harbhajan Singh took to Twitter and wrote: "Where is Mayank Agarwal ??? After scoring so many runs I don't see him in the squad ... different rules for different people I guess."
However, chairman of selectors MSK Prasad assured that his chance will come sooner than later.
"Mayank Agarwal has been fantastic and has been consistent in the last 10-12 months. He is just a step away and I am sure in due course of time he will get his recognition," he said.
"And he did well In all three formats in whatever opportunities he has got in domestic cricket. We will definitely look at it when we rest some of the senior players," Prasad assured.
Khaleel, a 20-year-old from Rajasthan's Tonk has played 17 List A matches, taking 28 wickets at an economy rate of 4.74. He is nippy with an ability to hustle the batsmen and Rahul Dravid has been mentoring him since the 2016 U-19 World Cup. He was with India A during the tour of England recently.