Afghanistan T20Is: Srikkanth questions India’s full-strength squad, urges youngsters’ inclusion

Former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth has criticised India’s full-strength squad for the Afghanistan T20I series, saying selectors should have used the opportunity to test youngsters. He also questioned the match-fitness of returning players Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana and others.

New Delhi: Former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth believes the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan should have been used to expand India’s pool of young players rather than rely on established names, arguing that recent defeats may have influenced the selectors to prioritise results over experimentation.

India are scheduled to face Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series in Delhi from September 13, with the squad also set to form the core of the team for the Asian Games in Japan later this month. The selection has brought Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar back into the mix despite questions surrounding their match fitness.

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For Srikkanth, the bigger concern is not the quality of the players picked but what their selection indicates about India’s approach to a series that could have offered opportunities to youngsters.

“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 on his YouTube channel.

India’s recent T20I results appear to have shaped that thinking. The side endured a difficult overseas stretch under Shreyas Iyer, losing all six completed matches in Ireland and England. A second-string Indian team subsequently responded with a 3-0 series sweep of Zimbabwe in July.

Srikkanth feels the response to those setbacks has been excessive, with the Afghanistan squad resembling the group selected for the England assignment.

“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.”

The former captain also turned his attention to the fitness status of four returning players. Rather than questioning their credentials, he argued that competitive readiness cannot be established solely through training at the Bengaluru Centre of Excellence.

“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,” opined Srikkanth.

Rana and Reddy, in particular, remain players Srikkanth rates highly in the shortest format. His objection, he stressed, is about the timing of their selection rather than their ability.

“This is not a question of ability. Harshit Rana has proved to be a very good bowler in T20s, and Nitish Kumar Reddy is brilliant in the short format. But why pick them without match-fitness being proven is the question,” Srikkanth said.