Kris Srikkanth, a 1983 World Cup winner, was unhappy with the selection of Shardul Thakur in India’s ICC World Cup 2023 squad which was named on Tuesday by chief selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Rohit Sharma.
'Balance and depth' - were the two words that Agarkar and Rohit stressed while talking about the 15-member squad.
Rohit later stressed the importance of having a strong tail, highlighting that the demands of modern-day cricket are such that even a No. 11 can tend to make a difference and hence should be able to score runs.
Shardul Thakur was one name that has caused many debates as the pacer is viewed as an all-rounder by many thanks to his ability to use the long handle to his advantage. He is also being seen as a backup for Hardik Pandya.
Former BCCI chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth highlighted that that Shardul hasn't proven his "all-rounder" abilities yet and the need for a bowler with batting abilities at No. 8 is needless, stressing that India can instead pick a specialist spinner or a pacer instead.
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He even got into an argument with Sanjay Bangar, on Star Sports show Selection Day, which went as below.
Srikkanth: “Is Shardul Thakur a complete batsman?”
Bangar: “In Test cricket, yes.”
Srikkanth: “I'm talking about ODI cricket. Is he an all-rounder?”
Bangar: “Yes he is.”
Srikkanth: “How is he an all-rounder? After T20 World Cup, his only big score was 25.”
Bangar: “His bowling is good.”
Srikkanth: “How is his bowling good? In his career, how many times has he bowled for full 10 overs?”
As the presenter tried to steer the discussion away, Bangar admitted that he would rather pick someone like Arshdeep Singh, the left-arm pacer, "who hasn't done anything wrong to not be considered", instead of Shardul.
Srikkanth then high-fived Bangar and said that it is needless to pick a player who hasn't had impactful batting performances to show at No. 8 and neither bowls a full quota of 10 overs.
"Everyone is saying we need a batter at No. 8...who needs a batter at No. 8? Shardul Thakur is only scoring 10 there and he doesn't even bowl for 10 overs. In the match against Nepal, how many overs did he bowl? 4 only. See, don't see performances against sides like West Indies or Zimbabwe. Yes if he performs well, then keep that in the back of your mind, but don't give importance to that. Instead stress on performances against teams like Australia or New Zealand. That is why I say, don't get fooled by overall averages, always look at individual matches," Srikkanth said.
Srikkanth recalled the bench strength in Indian team for the 2011 World Cup, which was picked during his time as chief selector of India.
He said: "Look at the 2011 World Cup squad. Shall I say who were the reserves? There were two spinners - R Ashwin and Piyush Chawla and one medium pacer in Munaf Patel, along with one batter in Yusuf Pathan."
(Star Sports inputs)
