‘This is wrong’: Srikanth slams ‘fear-driven’ India team for Afghanistan series | Cricket news
New Delhi: India’s decision to field a full-strength squad for the upcoming Afghanistan T20I series has drawn sharp criticism from the former cricketer Chris Srikanthwho believes the selectors missed a valuable opportunity to expose more young people to international cricket.Srikanth described the selection as a “mistake” and noted that 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 going down 0-4 against England in July. With the Afghanistan series offering three matches in familiar home conditions, Srikanth felt this was the ideal venue to give the fringe players a longer run.“After the series of defeats in Ireland and England, the selectors decided not to take any risks and picked a full-strength XI for Afghanistan. They are preparing with all their weapons, but this is wrong. Young players should be tried against teams like Afghanistan. Instead, I chose a full-strength XI out of fear,” Srikanth said on his YouTube channel.
A “desperate move” after the losses of England and Ireland
Srikanth also questioned why selectors were moving back so quickly towards the experienced group after using the Zimbabwe series to test players outside the normal setup.He added, “It seems like a desperate move after Ireland and England lost. But this team is almost the same team they chose for England.”India has named a 15-member squad for the three T20I teams, 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 Dubey and Varun Chakaravarthy, while 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi 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 being played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.However, Bumrah’s return is subject to a fitness clearance, as are Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya was sidelined after suffering another setback during his rehabilitation.
Srikanth wonders about ‘fitness’
The former India captain also raised concerns about the inclusion of players who have not been tested for fitness.“These four have not proven their fitness. On what basis are they subjected to fitness? Just because you prove your fitness in the Bengaluru stadium, are you fit? That’s how Harshit Rana went to England, and then what happened to him there? So match fitness is important,” Srikanth said.His comments come at a time when Bumrah, Nitish, Sundar and Rana are all awaiting fitness clearance before confirming their participation in the Afghanistan series.However, for Srikanth, the bigger issue is opportunity cost. Rather than using the three-match series to assess emerging options, India are believed to have responded to the recent setbacks by returning to a familiar mix.
India squad for Afghanistan T20Is
- Shreyas Iyer [C]Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson [WK]Ishaan Kishan [WK]Tilak Pharma [VC]Shivam Dubey, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar*, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah*, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana*
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(Note: *Subject to fitness permit)
