Following the disappointing end to Team India’s run in the T20 World Cup 2021, where they failed to make it to the 2nd round, the selection committee named the 16-member squad for the home T20Is against New Zealand. While many senior players have been rested for the series, a few players who were part of the ICC event have lost their spots.

Among those who have been dropped are spinners Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakaravarthy. Chahar only played one game in T20 WC where Chakaravarthy was India’s first-choice spinner in the tournament. Hence, his non-exclusion has come as a surprise to many.

Sharing his take on the selection, India legend Sunil Gavaskar has asked for clarity over Chakaravarthy’s non-exclusion. Speaking to India Today, the one-time World Cup winner has said that the team will only get stronger if the players are told the reason behind getting dropped.

“Even Varun Chakaravarthy needs to be told why he wasn’t picked in the squad. Unless of course, he is injured, and we don’t know about it. Only if someone tells them the exact reason, so that they can go back and work on their shortcomings and come back stronger. That will be the only way Indian cricket will get stronger,” he said.

Chakaravarthy couldn’t make an impact in the ICC event and went wicketless in three T20Is. His replacement, R Ashwin, impressed and scalped to 6 wickets in 3 matches. Ashwin has retained his spot for the NZ T20Is.

Apart from Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel are two other spinners in the squad. Chahal was a surprising exclusion from the WC squad while Axar was on the list of standby players.

The India-NZ series will mark a new era in Indian cricket as Rohit Sharma will be taking over in T20Is. Also, the series will kick off Rahul Dravid’s stint as the head coach of the national team. India host NZ in 3 T20Is and 2 Test matches.