BCCI announced Team India's squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup on April 30 and while the squad was anticipated, there were few comebacks and some surprising exclusions. Rinku Singh's exclusion was the most surprising one however, KL Rahul's snub also came in as a surprise for the fans.
Providing clarity on KL Rahul's exclusion, BCCI's chief selector, while addressing the media said, "KL is a terrific player. We all know that. The thing we are obviously looking at is guys who bat in the middle. At the moment, KL is batting at the top. Rishabh, not opening the innings. We feel Sanju has the ability to come down the order if need be. Rishabh is batting at 5 for Delhi. That was more the thinking. It wasn't whether KL is better or these guys are better. It's about the slots that we needed and we felt these two are better equipped at this point or have spent bit more time in the latter part of the innings which might be needed in the World Cup. So, that's mainly the thinking. Two incredible players as well"
Lucknow Super Giants captain is currently among the top five scorers in the Indian Premier League with 406 runs to his name in 10 games.