‘Picked Out of Fear’: Ex-Chief Selector Questions India’s Squad Selection For Afghanistan T20Is

Former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth has questioned India’s decision to pick a near full-strength squad for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan.

Srikkanth feels the three-match series could have been a good chance to give more young players an opportunity. Instead, he believes the recent defeats in Ireland and England may have pushed the selectors towards a safer approach.

India will play Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series in Delhi from September 13. The same group is also expected to form the core of India’s squad for the Asian Games in Japan later this month.

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Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar have all returned to the squad. However, their match fitness remains a talking point.

Srikkanth questions decision to pick full-strength squad

Srikkanth believes India should have used the Afghanistan series to test some of its younger players instead of focusing so heavily on results.

“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.

India had a difficult run on their recent overseas tour, losing all six completed T20Is in Ireland and England under Shreyas Iyer. However, a second-string Indian side bounced back soon after by completing a 3-0 T20I series win over Zimbabwe in July.

Srikkanth feels the selectors may have reacted too strongly to the earlier results.

“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.”

Srikkanth raises fitness concerns

The former India captain also questioned the decision to bring back four players without them proving their match fitness.

Bumrah, Rana, Reddy and Sundar have been working on their fitness at the Bengaluru Centre of Excellence, but Srikkanth believes training alone is not enough to show that a player is ready for competitive cricket.

“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,” opined Srikkanth.

Srikkanth backs Rana and Reddy

Srikkanth was also clear that his concerns are not about the ability of Harshit Rana or Nitish Kumar Reddy.

He rates both players highly in T20 cricket but feels they should have first shown that they are ready for competitive action.

“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,” Srikkanth said.