Former India player and selector Kris Srikkanth has criticised the squad picked for the Afghanistan T20I series, calling the decision a mistake.
Srikkanth believes the Afghanistan series was an ideal opportunity to give youngsters a chance instead of selecting a full-strength squad.
He has also questioned the selection of Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy subject to fitness, arguing that match fitness should be established.
Ajit Agarkar-Led Selection Committee’s ‘Desperation Move’ To Pick Full-Strength Squad A Mistake, Says Kris Srikkanth
The former India selector believes the three-match series should have been used to test youngsters. Srikkant feels the selectors have responded to recent defeats by picking a full-strength squad.
Summary
Former India player and captain, Kris Srikkanth, is not happy with the team picked for the T20I series against Afghanistan by the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar.
He believes it's a mistake, and the series was the right platform to try out youngsters. The team was announced earlier this week, and four players were included, subject to their fitness.
The two-time World Champion, captained by Shreyas Iyer, had a terrible UK tour earlier this year. They lost their series against Ireland and England. It was also Shreyas' first tour as full-time India T20I captain, after he was given the reins of the team in the shortest format.
While speaking on his YouTube channel, Srikkant said, "After the series losses in Ireland and England, the selectors have decided not to take a chance and picked a full-strength squad for Afghanistan. They are going all guns blazing, but this is a mistake. It’s against teams like Afghanistan that you should try out youngsters. Instead, you’ve picked a full-strength squad out of fear.”
“It feels like a desperation move after the Ireland and England losses. But this squad is almost the same as the one they picked for England," he added.
Srikkanth Raises Fitness Concern
India have named Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy in the squad with an asterisk of 'subject to fitness clearance.' These four will join the Indian team in New Delhi for the series against Afghanistan after passing the required tests and going through match simulations at the BCCI's CoE.
However, Srikkant believes the players should be added to the squad after all required tests are done. “These four have not proved match fitness. So, on what basis are they subject to fitness? Just because you prove your fitness at the Bengaluru CoE, does that mean you're fit? That’s how Harshit Rana went to England, and then what happened to him there? So match-fitness is important,” said Srikkanth.
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“This is not a question of ability. Harshit Rana has proved to be a very good bowler in T20s, and Nitish Kumar Reddy is brilliant in the short format. But why pick them without match-fitness being proven is the question,” he added.
The Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi will host the three Twenty20 Internationals between India and Afghanistan on September 13, 15, and 17.
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