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Former Indian batsman Mohammad Kaif has criticized the national selectors for ignoring Rasikh Salaam for the upcoming three-match T20 series against Zimbabwe. Kaif believes that Rasikh Salaam tried everything possible to get a place in India but still he was left out of the team.
Kaif feels that the selectors missed a big opportunity by not picking a player who has shown great performance in IPL 2026. He believes that it is difficult to understand how a bowler with such strong performances could be ignored while other bowlers with very little game behind his name were selected. Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra made a bold decision about Harshit Rana ahead of the India vs England 4th T20I.
Mayank Yadav, Ashok Sharma and Yash Thakur were selected ahead of Rasikh Salaam.
BCCI recently announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match T20 series against Zimbabwe. Young fast bowlers Ashok Sharma and Yash Thakur have been included in the Indian team for the first time, while Mayank Yadav has also returned to the T20 team.
However, Rasikh Salam, who performed brilliantly in the IPL 2026 season with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), did not get a place in the team. The Jammu and Kashmir pacer took 19 wickets in just 12 matches and was one of the standout performers for RCB during their title-winning campaign.
Reward performers, not favourites: Mohammad Kaif expressed displeasure over Rasikh Salaam’s ouster
Reacting to Rasikh being ignored despite a brilliant IPL 2026 season, Mohammad Kaif believes performances like this should have been enough to earn him a place in the Indian team. He also questioned the selection of Yash Thakur and Mayank Yadav ahead of Rasikh and said that the national selectors should reward players who perform consistently rather than ignoring them.
Mohammad Kaif said in a video on his YouTube channel, “Rasikh Dar Salaam took 19 wickets in the IPL, and yet his name is not being discussed anywhere. But Yash Thakur played just one IPL match and made it to the team. Mayank Yadav also has not done anything special. He played and got hit. You need to choose bowlers who have a winning mentality.”
Cricket pundits have pointed out that Rasikh has developed a strong winning mentality after being a part of RCB’s two successful campaigns, and he has played a key role in those wins. Meanwhile, Mohammad Kaif shared his honest verdict on India’s leadership experiment in T20Is.
Kaif further explained, “That’s the most important thing, the winning mentality. He is an extremely skilled bowler. Like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he may not look like an express fast bowler because of his build, but that doesn’t matter.”
Mohammad Kaif questions India’s selection logic over Rasikh Salam being ignored
The former cricketer also believes that Rasikh is a complete T20 fast bowler. He said that the young player can bowl with the new ball in the powerplay and can also withstand pressure in the death overs.
Along with this, Rasikh has many variations like slow balls, cross-seam delivery, swing and smart game awareness, which make him a dangerous bowler in T20 cricket. And that is why he was surprised that the RCB star’s name was not being mentioned anywhere.
Kaif said, “I’m really surprised. Here’s a player who has been a part of RCB’s title-winning team twice. He has a winning attitude, a winning mindset, and he has spent time in a dressing room full of winners. You can imagine how much confidence that must have given him. I’m really surprised that he still hasn’t been given a chance. I honestly don’t understand how these selections are being made.”