Reports: Early selection the reason behind Mayank Agarwal's non-inclusion in Nidahas Trophy

India’s squad for the Nidahas trophy was expected to have plenty of new places as it was a good opportunity to blood youngsters and test their bench strength. The key players like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were rested after a long and gruelling tour with Rohit Sharma given yet another opportunity to lead the side.

As expected, the cricketers like Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Siraj and Washington Sundar were included for the tri-series in Sri Lanka. However, what was difficult to figure out was the reason for the non-inclusion of Mayank Agarwal in the squad.

The Karnataka batsman could not get an India cap despite becoming the only Indian to score over 2000 runs in a domestic season. However, it is being said that there was a solid pattern behind his non-inclusion. As per the new pattern, a player has to play for India A before making it to the national side, but now, another reason has been revealed behind his non-inclusion.

What is the reason?

According to a report in the Indian Express, the squad for Nidahas Trophy was selected on February 20, a day before the start of knockout fixtures of Vijay Hazare Trophy. The report suggests that the squad was not announced to the public and the selectors already had selected the squad earlier. Even before the squad was announced, it was revealed that Rishabh Pant would take the place of MS Dhoni, which further backs the reports.

However, this reasoning isn’t solid enough because Agarwal had already fared well in the Ranji Trophy with 1160 runs scored and his performance was good enough to knock the door of the selectors. It is not necessary that had the squad been announced during the knockout phase of the tournament, he would have earned his maiden national call-up.

Mayank Agarwal is in the form of his life and after a terrific outing in Ranji, he scored three centuries in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy. Following that, he scored 633 runs which were the highest ever in the history of the tournament, breaking the record of Sachin Tendulkar for most runs in a List A competition.

He was a vital player for Karnataka in their victorious campaign and will be just as vital for his side in Deodhar Trophy and a good performance in this tournament will further put selectors under pressure to keep him in the reckoning. However, India’s next international fixture (post-Nidahas Trophy) is in June when the Virat Kohli led side faces Afghanistan. He is not expected to get a place in the Test team with all of India’s slots full including their back-ups.

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