‘It’s a mistake’: Srikkanth slams India’s ‘fear-driven’ squad for Afghanistan series
NEW DELHI: India’s decision to field a full-strength squad for the upcoming Afghanistan T20I series has drawn sharp criticism from former cricketer Kris Srikkanth, who feels the selectors have missed a valuable opportunity to expose more youngsters to international cricket.Srikkanth described the selection as a “mistake” and suggested that the recent defeats in Ireland and England had influenced the selectors to play it safe rather than experiment with the team.India suffered a 0-2 T20I series defeat against Ireland before being beaten 0-4 by England in July. With the Afghanistan series featuring three matches in familiar home conditions, Srikkanth felt it was an ideal environment to give the fringe players a longer chance.“After the series losses in Ireland and England, the selectors decided not to take any chances and picked a full strength team for Afghanistan. Everyone is firing but that’s a mistake. Against teams like Afghanistan you should try youngsters. Instead you picked a full strength team out of fear,” Srikkan said on his YouTube channel.
“Desperate move” after England and Ireland losses
Srikkanth also questioned why the selectors were so quick to revert to an experienced combination after using the Zimbabwe series to test players outside the starting line-up.“It looks like a desperate move after the losses in Ireland and England. But this squad is almost the same as the one they picked for England,” he added.India have named a 15-man squad for the three T20Is, with Shreyas Iyer continuing as captain and Tilak Varma as his deputy. Experienced names include Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube and Varun Chakaravarthy, while 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi retained his place after an encouraging series in Zimbabwe.The Afghanistan series will be played in New Delhi on September 13, 15 and 17, with all three matches scheduled at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.However, Bumrah’s return is subject to fitness clearance, as are Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya missed out after suffering another setback during his rehabilitation.
Srikkanth questions ‘match fitness’
The former India captain also expressed concern over the inclusion of players whose match fitness remains untested.“These four have not shown match fitness. So on what basis are they subject to fitness? Just because you are proving your fitness at the Bengaluru CoE, are you fit? So Harshit Rana went to England and what happened to him there? So match fitness is important,” Srikkanth said.His comments come at a time when Bumrah, Nitish, Sundar and Rana are all awaiting medical clearance before their participation in the Afghanistan series is confirmed.For Srikkanth, however, the bigger issue is opportunity cost. Rather than using the three-match series to assess emerging options, he believes India have responded to their recent setbacks by reverting to a familiar combination.
India squad for Afghanistan T20Is
- Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma (VC), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar*, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Harashiep Sysprit, Ari Buesh, Jasprit.
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