Kris Srikkanth criticizes Gautam Gambhir for picking Harshit Rana in the Indian ODI squad for the Australia tour. The former India captain accused Gambhir of playing favourites with his player selections. Srikkanth believes Rana keeps getting chances only because Gambhir rates him so highly.
Rana has played just five ODI matches and grabbed 10 wickets so far. His average sits at 20.70 with an economy rate of 5.69 overall. Srikkanth questions whether these numbers justify his selection for such a tough tour.
Favouritism Claims Against Head Coach
Kris Srikkanth criticizes Gautam Gambhir by calling out his repeated selection of certain players. He feels the head coach picks players based on personal preference rather than form. Srikkanth pointed out how Rana keeps appearing in squads despite limited experience abroad.
“Harshit Rana is a permanent because he is Gautam Gambhir’s favourite. He is always a certainty and the first name in the team sheet after Shubman Gill,” Srikkanth said.
The former opener worries this approach could backfire on Australian pitches against quality batsmen. He wants selections based purely on current form and proven track records instead. Srikkanth believes India needs its absolute best players for this important tour ahead.
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Questions About Nitish Kumar Reddy
Srikkanth also slammed the inclusion of Nitish Kumar Reddy in the squad list. He doesn’t think Reddy qualifies as a proper all-rounder for international cricket yet. The youngster will struggle on bouncy Australian wickets, according to Srikkanth’s assessment there.
“Where did Nitish Kumar Reddy come from? If you ask them, they’ll say he is Hardik Pandya’s replacement. But the actual replacement for Hardik is Ravindra Jadeja, not Nitish Kumar Reddy. Nitish Kumar Reddy will get clobbered in Australia in ODIs,” Srikkanth stated.
“If you take him by considering him as an all-rounder, not at all fair. He is just a batsman who can bowl. He wasn’t even there in the Champions Trophy team. Nitish Kumar Reddy wasn’t even in the ODI Scheme of things. They’ve adjusted somehow to get him into the squad.”
Management projects Reddy as Hardik Pandya’s replacement, but Srikkanth disagrees completely with this logic. He feels Ravindra Jadeja should’ve been the obvious choice to replace Pandya instead. The team seems to be adjusting the squad to fit Reddy rather awkwardly.
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Grooming Gill as Captain
Kris Srikkanth criticizes Gautam Gambhir’s plan to make Shubman Gill the all-format captain. He noted Gill’s poor Asia Cup performances don’t support this captaincy push right now. Gill replaces Rohit Sharma as ODI captain while Suryakumar Yadav leads T20Is going forward.
“He wasn’t there in my Asia Cup squad itself. But they will persist with him because they want to make him the all-format captain. It is very obvious. Irrespective of whether he scores big or not, he’ll be made the all-format captain,” Srikkanth said.
Srikkanth worries about the team’s direction under the current management’s strategic decisions made recently. He wants transparent selection policies that everyone can understand clearly without confusion.
