Former India cricketer Kris Srikkanth has expressed criticism of the Indian selectors for choosing a full-strength squad for the upcoming Twenty20 International series against Afghanistan, citing fear and desperation following recent defeats.
India suffered a 2-0 series loss to Ireland and a 4-0 series defeat to England in July. The Afghanistan series is scheduled to begin on September 13, with matches on September 15 and September 17, all to be held at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium in New Delhi.
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“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,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
He added, It feels like a desperation move
He added, “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.”
The Men’s Selection Committee named a star-studded India squad for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, with regular captain Shreyas Iyer leading the team and Tilak Varma as his deputy. The squad includes pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, subject to fitness clearance, along with Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana.
Srikkanth also emphasised the significance of match fitness, questioning whether players can be deemed fully fit based solely on fitness tests at the Bengaluru Centre of Excellence. He stated, “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, are you fit? That’s how Harshit Rana went to England, and then what happened to him there? So match fitness is important.”
Source: thenewsmill.com
