Former India captain and ex-BCCI chief selector Kris Srikkanth came down heavily on the current selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar for picking KL Rahul in the Indian Asia Cup 2023 squad, despite him not being 100% fit.
Agarkar, during the presser to announce the 17-member India squad for Asia Cup, confirmed that while Shreyas Iyer was 100% fit, KL Rahul was carrying a fresh niggle and might miss a couple of games in the continental tournament.
Sanju Samson was picked as a backup keeper-batter for KL Rahul in the squad as a traveling reserve.
"It's being said that KL Rahul has a niggle. If you have a niggle, don't pick him in the squad. If a player is not fit during selection, you shouldn't pick him. That was our policy. On the day of selection, if a player is not fit, don't select him. If you want to pick him for the World Cup, select him for the World Cup. That's a different issue. Now they are saying that he might play after a couple of matches and that's why we have picked Sanju Samson as a travelling reserve. What's all this," Kris Srikkanth said in a video on his YouTube channel.
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KL Rahul recently underwent surgery for the thigh injury he had suffered during the IPL 2023, which made him miss the World Test Championship final 2023 against Australia.
"You're playing Asia Cup which is also a premier tournament. We haven't qualified for the Asia Cup (final) over the last two editions. You have to qualify for the final and perform well. They are still unsure about the World Cup squad. You're confused. It would help if you had something called a selection policy. I am not trying to take any credit but let me tell you what we (our selection panel) used to have," Srikkanth added.
Srikkanth highlighted a past incident where their selection panel decided not to pick a player who was not fit on the day of selection, to avoid desperate situations.
"We had this problem during a Test match. It was against a Test vs. South Africa. VVS Laxman said he would play if he got fit in time and urged us to keep him in the team. But on the day of the match, he was not fit. And then we thought of drafting Rohit Sharma in. But Rohit played football and injured himself.
After that, Wriddhiman Saha made his debut. On that day, our selection panel decided not to be desperate. On the day of selection, if you're not fit, don't pick that player. You're making it look as though Indians don't have talent. You have created a situation like that," Srikkanth further said.
India’s Asia Cup 2023 campaign will begin on September 2nd against Pakistan in Sri Lanka.
(India Today inputs)
