Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan raised questions over the Indian cricket team’s selection criteria after the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup was unveiled on Tuesday (April 30).
Pathan pointed out a notable shift in strategy, recalling the aftermath of India's disappointing semi-final ouster from the 2022 edition of T20 World Cup in Australia.
The selectors prioritized experience over rookie IPL performers as they included veteran campaigners like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the squad.
Notably, the two batting stalwarts didn’t play a T20I match after the last T20 World Cup until they made a return to the shortest format for India during the home series against Afghanistan earlier this year.
"Two years ago when you lost in the T20 World Cup semi-final, you had decided that you don't want senior players. You decided that you don't want them. That's why neither Rohit Sharma nor Virat Kohli was seen in T20Is. You had said that we will go with all the young boys," Pathan said while speaking on Star Sports.
"But when the talk of the World Cup came up, then you felt that you should still go on the basis of experience here. You should always go on the basis of experience, especially on difficult wickets. But if there is a process, then that process needs to be followed completely. In this you can get better results," he added, highlighting the need for clarity and transparency in the selection process.
In particular, Irfan Pathan was disappointed with young batter Rinku Singh’s absence from the T20 World Cup 2024 squad.
Rinku has performed exceptionally well in whatever opportunities he has received to represent India in the shortest format so far. In 15 T20Is and 11 innings, the southpaw has amassed 356 runs at an average of 89 and a strike rate of 176.24 while batting in the middle-order. He also has two half-centuries to his name.
"I am very disappointed with Rinku Singh's absence here," Pathan remarked, expressing concern over the exclusion of promising players.
On the other hand, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar offered a different perspective, attributing Rinku's omission to his lean patch in the ongoing IPL.
"Maybe his form in this particular edition of the IPL hasn't been great. He hasn't had that many opportunities, maybe that's the reason why they've (selectors) not picked him," Gavaskar claimed.
India’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign is due to begin on June 5 against Ireland in New York.
Team India’s 15-member squad for T20 World Cup 2024:
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh
Travelling Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan
