'Gambhir doesn’t select, he only rejects': Former India star takes jibe at Team India head coach

Several fans and many experts were surprised over Shreyas Iyer's exclusion from the Indian squad for the upcoming five-match Test series against England.

Many fans even went to the extent of blaming current Team India head coach and former KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir for the exclusion of in-form Iyer from the squad alleging that both were not in good terms with each other during their stint with the IPL franchise.

When Gambhir was asked about Iyer's exclusion, he gave a rather straightforward response, saying, 'I am not the selector.'

However, this comment didn’t go well with former cricketer Atul Wassan. The former cricketer took a jibe at Gambhir, saying, 'Gambhir doesn’t select players; he only rejects.'

In a recent interaction, Wassan pointed out that the Indian selection process does involve the coach, and his opinions are considered before the final squad is announced.

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"The coach plays a role in team selection, and selectors do take their input into account before finalizing the squad," said Wassan.

Though BCCI hasn’t disclosed the reason for Iyer's exclusion, there’s speculation that his past struggles with short balls and deliveries that move might have led the selectors to seek out more technically proficient batters suited for English conditions.