Shubman Gill and Avesh Khan, who were part of the travelling reserve for the T20 World Cup 2024 have been released after the conclusion of the United States leg and ahead of the Super 8 phase, to be held in the Caribbean.
India have qualified for the Super 8 phase where they have been put together in a group that is likely to include Australia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Only two of the four reserves - Khaleel Ahmed and Rinku Singh will travel along with the team to the Caribbean.
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There were speculations that the two Indian cricketers, Gill and Avesh may have been released due to disciplinary issues during the World Cup. Instead, Team India's batting coach, Vikram Rathour, has quashed all those rumours and revealed that the decision to release them was taken in advance, ahead of start of the tournament.
What did Vikram Rathour say about Shubman Gill's release from T20 World Cup 2024 squad?
The Indian batting coach, Vikram Rathour revealed the reason for Shubman Gill and Avesh Khan's release from the reserve squad ahead of the Carribean leg of the T20 World Cup 2024.
He was speaking during a press conference after the India-Canada match was abandoned due to rain where he stated that the two players were not released due to disciplinary issues but instead, the decision was pre-decided ahead of the tournament that only two of the four reserves will travel to the Caribbean leg.
“This was a plan from the beginning. When we come to the US, four players will come together. After that two will be released and two will travel with us to West Indies. So, this plan was made from the beginning since the team was selected. This was planned so we are just following that,” Rathour said to reporters.
India was set to play their final group stage match against Canada at Lauderhill; however, the match could not be played due to heavy rains ahead of the game which left puddles and wet areas on several parts of the outfield.
“Of course, that concern is always there when you play on the conditions which are not ideal. So, decision to play or not to play over with the match officials. So as a team we didn't have any say in that. But if the game had happened that would have really helped us. We were really looking forward to playing a game, to play a good game of cricket,” he said.
The Indian batting coach stated that the match against Canada was abandoned in the best interests of players from both teams as the wet outfield and that the challenging conditions at Lauderhill, Florida could have hurt players.
“There's always a concern when you play a game in conditions like this that some injury can happen. You're already in Super 8 and you don't want that to happen. That's the last thing you want to happen before you enter the serious part of the tournament,” Rathour added.
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