Former Indian selector Kris Srikkanth has once again fallen out with Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir, this time over the omission of Kuldeep Yadav from the Indian playing XI for the first ODI in Perth.
India played a total of three all-rounders, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, with both spinners taking one wicket each. However, failing to defend 131 runs resulted in India suffering a crushing defeat by a huge margin of 7 wickets.
After being heavily criticized by former cricketers over ignoring in-form spinner Kuldeep Yadav, it will be interesting to see if Team India rethinks its strategy for the second ODI. Chris Srikkanth is one of the latest critics of the Indian management and Gautam Gambhir’s decision.
Chris Srikkanth questioned, “Wrist spinners are potential match winners. I don’t understand the logic as to why they left out Kuldeep Yadav.”
Former Indian selector Kris Srikkanth has once again opposed Gautam Gambhir’s strategy and team selection. However this time, he has gone ahead of Harshit Rana and slammed the Indian coach for ignoring Kuldeep Yadav from the Indian playing XI for the first ODI.
Srikkanth explained how the spinner also performed well for the Australian team. Spinner Matthew Kuhnman, who replaced Adam Zampa, took two wickets while Sundar and Axar Patel provided crucial breakthroughs for India. So he clearly mentioned that he failed to reason because of Kuldeep’s neglect.
“Apart from Starc and Hazlewood, who gave them important breakthroughs? It was Kuhneman. Axar also took an important wicket for us. The spinners did a good job. They will always do a better job.”
“Wrist spinners are potential match-winners. I don’t understand why they dropped Kuldeep. I will still play Kuldeep, Washington and Axar. Spinners will do a better job than medium pacers in these conditions,” he said on his YouTube channel.
“Forget combinations and eight batsmen. Go for the best players and the best team” – Srikkanth advises Ashwin to Gautam Gambhir
The 1983 World Cup winner further highlighted Kuldeep’s excellent form and his impressive performances across all formats of the game. However, he strongly voiced against restricting a spinner of Kuldeep’s caliber to only conditions like the subcontinent.
Kuldeep Yadav did not play a single match during the England tour earlier this year. Like Ravichandran Ashwin, Srikkanth also urged India to stop worrying about batting depth and play with the best players available.
Srikkanth said, “He is bowling so well in Tests; he bowled so well in the Asia Cup also. He has played well in T20 cricket and you say things like the ball doesn’t turn on Australian wickets, that’s why we are not playing Kuldeep Yadav. That is a dangerous statement and I don’t understand it.”
“Forget the combination and eight batsmen. Go for the best players and the best team. How many runs can a number eight batsman get you? Forget seven batsmen or eight batsmen, Kuldeep just has to play. Any other team, he will just go. It’s very sad,” Srikkanth’s stern ultimatum.
“That’s where we’re making mistakes” – Srikkanth reflects on India’s mistakes in 1st ODI
Srikkanth has also put forward the name of Kuldeep Yadav as well as Prasidh Krishna, who he believes should have been played over Harshit Rana. Srikkanth, anyway, was never happy with Rana’s selection and further said that Krishna could have made good use of the Australian conditions.
He said, “What can we say? How much can we say? Prasidh Krishna has height, bounce, pace, he is in good form from the England Test. I would have gone with Kuldeep first and then my choice would have been Prasidh Krishna.”
Despite dismissing Travis Head early in the innings, India could not stop its opponent with the ball. He highlighted that the middle overs play a very important role and bowlers like Kuldeep Yadav are effective in taking wickets during this phase.
Srikkanth concluded, “The more wickets you take in the middle overs, the run-rate will automatically go down. This is where we are making mistakes. You need bowlers who can take wickets in the middle overs and that is where Kuldeep will be very useful.”
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