Ajit Agarkar put his foot down for inclusion of Jurel, Padikkal against England in Test series: Reports

According to a report in Hindustan Times citing BCCI sources, the former Indian pacer was the one-man army that suggested India bet on the youngsters to bail them out even when the Test series was on the line.

“It was Agarkar who suggested Jurel’s name. The team management wasn’t too confident about him as he was still a rookie. Picking a youngster who hasn’t had much red-ball exposure at the top level straightaway into the Indian side for an important series like England was always going to be a brave call but Agarkar had seen enough to vouch for the youngster,” the source told the publication.

With KL Rahul ruled out due to an injury and Virat Kohli already skipping the series due to personal reasons, the Indian batting lineup was bereft of experience. The management may have been tempted to go back to tried-and-tested players such as Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane but Agarkar put his foot down and reposed faith in the youth.

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“There was a discussion about Cheteshwar Pujara, who was scoring runs in Ranji Trophy. The batting line-up literally had no experience. But Agarkar stood firm on looking ahead with Padikkal’s selection. He was present when he hit a fluent 150 in a Ranji Trophy and he believed that his height would come in handy against the inexperienced England spinners,” the source added.

Jurel was sensational with the gloves but also played a couple of incredible knocks, especially in Ranchi, which helped India win the series and complete a turnaround. Similarly, Padikkal came in the last match in Dharamshala and showed incredible composure.

Dravid lauds Agarkar

After the win, Dravid also lauded Agarkar for his foresight, saying he was grateful as his backroom staff did not have the opportunities to scout players on the domestic circuit.

“I’d just like to give a big shoutout to Ajit [Agarkar, chairman of selectors] and his team as well. A lot of the youngsters that come in, honestly, as a coach and as a captain, we don’t actually get to see them because we don’t see as much domestic cricket as Ajit and his team of selectors do,” said Dravid.

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“And they’ve pushed us and they’ve challenged us to pick some of these young players and they’ve picked the right ones and they’ve come out here and performed,” he added.

After the Test series, the focus now shifts to IPL but Agarkar will be already charting the perfect lineup for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Given the template set by him, it looks certain that youngsters would be preferred.