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Xtra Time Web Desk: India's squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe was announced on Monday, creating waves in the cricketing community. The selection saw a surprising exclusion of many top performers from the IPL 2024, including players from the IPL-winning Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team. This sparked a notable reaction from KKR's star spinner, Varun Chakravarthy.

Varun, who had a stellar IPL season with 21 wickets in just 14 innings, took to Instagram to express his frustration. In his cryptic stories, he criticized the selection committee for overlooking his consistent performances. Varun hinted that the absence of a 'paid PR agency' might be the reason behind his exclusion, indirectly accusing the selectors of favoring popularity over merit.

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The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee chose only two spinners, Washington Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi, for the Zimbabwe tour, leaving out Varun despite his remarkable form. This decision has raised eyebrows, especially considering Varun's impressive track record in the IPL over the past few seasons.

KKR's dominant IPL 2024 performance saw only Rinku Singh making it to the national squad, while prominent players like Captain Shreyas Iyer, emerging pacer Harshit Rana, and top performer Venkatesh Iyer were also left out. This exclusion has raised questions about the selection criteria and the role of public relations in the decision-making process.

In his Instagram stories, Varun expressed his discontent with the cryptic messages, highlighting his exclusion despite being one of the best spinners in the IPL 2024. This has led to speculation about the influence of public relations in team selections.

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The squad for the Zimbabwe series includes four debutants: Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Nitish Reddy, and Tushar Deshpande, along with wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson retained their places from the T20 World Cup squad, while Shubman Gill has been appointed as the captain for the series starting on July 6 in Harare.

Varun's cryptic Instagram stories have added fuel to the ongoing debate about the transparency and fairness of the selection process, shedding light on the potential impact of PR and popularity in cricket team selections.