India won the second test match against Australia by 6 wickets, Men in Blue is now leading by 2-0 against Pat Cummins-led side in ongoing the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). Aussie off-spinner Ashton Agar made comeback in the test squad after five years with the recently concluded South Africa series.
Agar was not however picked in both the test match of BGT. Former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist speculated that Agar might also come back home after not getting proper opportunities from team management.
Gilchrist termed not picking Agar in the playing 11 in two test matches as a ‘pretty big insult’-
“There’s been murmurings that (Agar) might be on a flight home because he might feel like he’s surplus to requirements over there and I can understand why, without being in the camp and knowing the finer details of why he wasn’t picked,” said former Australian wicketkeeper Gilchrist.
After the first Test match, leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson returned home for his child’s birth, with left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann replacing Swepson in the Australian squad. Kuhnemann, grabbed his baggy green cap ahead of the second Test in Delhi, seemingly not taking note of Agar in the pecking order.
“But it’s a pretty big insult that I know from touring and being on a lot of tours, you felt that if you’re picked on the tour in a broader squad — unless it’s a pretty extreme like for like that has to come in — you generally expected the guys that were first reserves to step in, so that’s a bit of a body blow for him I would imagine. I haven’t spoken to him … it’ll be interesting to see what he does, whether he’s brought into contention,” he further added.
“Maybe they keep the three spinners if that’s what conditions warrant and then Green comes in and adds that nice balance,It looks like Renshaw is probably the guy that would drop out of that happens because he looks like he’s a little bit scrambled as to where he fits into the picture,I backed this team to win over there, I thought they had all the tools and the mindset and the experience to get it done,but it’s been a bit surprising as to how it’s unravelled pretty quick,” concluded cricketer cum analyst Gilchrist.
Why Matt Kuhnemann was selected over Ashton Agar:
"We just feel his style at the moment is more suited to these conditions…"#INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/u0mdOYcPq4
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) February 17, 2023
Team India will now be looking to win the third test match of four test match series to secure their place in the World Test Championship final. Asian giants will take on Pat Cummins-led Australia for the next test match at Indore on March 1st.