Former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik is not one bit happy with the changes BCCI's selection committee made to the Champions Trophy 2025 squad after ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the tournament.
Like many other experts and former cricketers, Karthik questioned the rationale behind India carrying one too many spinners for their campaign in Dubai.
India had named three spin-bowling all-rounders -- Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar -- and one premier spinner -- Kuldeep Yadav -- in their provisional squad.
After Bumrah failed to recover from the back injury he sustained during the BGT last month, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee changed the squad combination and added another spinner -- Varun Chakaravarthy, albeit in place of young batter Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was relegated to the reserves list.
"Five spinners, I personally feel, is a bit too much. They could have done with 4, I felt. And that’s where I do think it shows a little bit of, not confusion, which is probably a strong word, but not being very sure of what exactly to do because they announced a squad and then they added another spinner for an opener," Karthik told Cricbuzz.
Meanwhile, the selectors went ahead with Harshit Rana as Bumrah's replacement as Mohammed Siraj was picked as a non-travelling substitute. The decision to pick Rana over Siraj did put the selection panel under scrutiny, as the latter has been a consistent performer for India in the 50-over format for the past few years.
According to Karthik, Siraj could have been the ideal replacement but the Indian camp currently has more trust on Rana's ability after the England ODI series at home.
“Look, if you had to go with experience, then yes, Siraj could have been the ideal choice, but I thought Harshit bowled very well against England. What I feel is the Indian camp is very impressed with Harshit Rana. I think Harshit Rana was the debate, but I feel Team India backs him right now more than Siraj," Karthik remarked.
The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team will open their Champions Trophy campaign on February 20 against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
