Former India captain Kris Srikkanth could not buy the idea of sending KL Rahul to bat at No. 7 before dropping him from the playing combination in the next match. Srikkanth criticized the Indian team management for not utilizing KL Rahul as per his credentials.
For the opening match of the ongoing 3-match ODI series against England, the Indian team management sent KL Rahul to bat at number seven in Birmingham. In the next match in Cardiff, where India lost by 4 wickets, Rahul was not a part of the playing eleven.
Kris Srikkanth criticizes Indian team management for reshuffling the batting order
When Chris Srikkanth went to England to tell about India’s ongoing struggle, he got angry at the team management. The Gautam Gambhir-coached Indian national cricket team, which is known for experimenting, had done the same in the last two ODIs. Sending KL Rahul at number 7 was a part of experiments.
In the next match, which was held in Cardiff, the Men in Blue management surprisingly dropped the 34-year-old keeper-batsman from the playing eleven to include Ishan Kishan in the squad as a keeper-batsman. In another surprise move, Ishan was sent to bat at number four ahead of Shreyas Iyer, who is an established number four batsman. That ploy did not work and Ishan Kishan was out after scoring just 1 run.
Why is KL Rahul not at number 4? chris srikanth question
Srikkanth questioned the Indian team management as to why they sent KL Rahul to bat at number seven in the first match, whereas on previous occasions he had batted at number 5 and number 6. The matter of sending Rahul down the batting order became more complicated when in the next game, Ishan Kishan came to bat as the number four batsman ahead of Shreyas Iyer.
“When Kishan can bat at No. 4, why not Rahul? This management is just eliminating Rahul. It seems they only want to destroy good players. It is nonsense that they send KL Rahul at 6 and 7. If Rahul is fit, he should bat at No. 4,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel, Cheeky Cheeka.
Why is Ravindra Jadeja not with Team India?
Ravindra Jadeja’s absence from the field also left the former batsman worried about the Indian cricket team’s plans.
Criticizing the management, Chris Srikkanth mentioned that instead of playing Ravindra Jadeja, who is an experienced spin-bowling all-rounder, the team relied on all-rounders like Suryanash Shedge and Shivam Dubey, who performed poorly despite getting several opportunities to prove their talent.
After a disappointing ODI series against New Zealand earlier this year, Ravindra Jadeja has been dropped from the team across all formats. In all three matches against New Zealand, Jadeja did not get any wickets with an average economy rate of around six.
Srikkanth said, “He (Jadeja) has been sent to the shed. I don’t understand why Jadeja’s name is not considered when they play people like Shedge. Of all the people, they are developing Shivam Dubey as an all-rounder.”