India will play three T20Is against Afghanistan in New Delhi next week.
Former BCCI chief selector Kris Srikkanth has criticized India's full-strength squad selected for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan in New Delhi, calling it a missed opportunity to test young players.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth argued that playing in familiar home conditions against lower-ranked teams like Afghanistan is the perfect setting to blood fringe players. He asserted that the panic stems directly from India's 0-2 series loss to Ireland and subsequent 0-4 sweep by England in July.
According to Srikkanth, the selectors chose to "play it safe" and picked nearly the same lineup that struggled in England.
“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.
“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.
India have named a 15-member squad for three T20Is against Afghanistan. The top order features a mix of experienced campaigners and young talent, including Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan.
The middle order includes the likes of skipper Shreyas Iyer, vice-captain Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube. India have opted for three all-round options in Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, while Varun Chakaravarthy will lead the spin attack alongside Ravi Bishnoi.
Ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah returns to the squad, subject to fitness clearance, as are Nitish, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana.
Srikkanth also questioned the national selection committee for including players in the T20I squad without proven match fitness. He mentioned that passing fitness tests at the Bengaluru Centre of Excellence does not equate to international match readiness, citing Rana's prior experience in England as a cautionary example.
“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,” he remarked.
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 Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah*, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana*