The Gujarat Titans’ pacer was surprisingly left out of the Indian squad for the ongoing Asia Cup.
World Cup winner and former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has called out the team management on their decisions with regards to the selection of the squad for the ongoing Asia Cup, where India were eliminated after two losses on the bounce to Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
India were let down by their performances with the ball, particularly in the game against Pakistan, where they had a sizeable score to defend. Shastri was left baffled by the team management’s decision to head into a major tournament with just three genuine pace bowling options, in Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, and the veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar, as in-form pavers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel are nursing injuries ahead of the all-important T20 World Cup.
Shastri was particularly unimpressed with the management overlooking stalwart speedster Mohammed Shami, especially considering that he had a fantastic season in the Gujarat Titans’ victorious maiden campaign.
India were dominant in the group stages, posting comfortable victories over arch rivals Pakistan and minnows Hong Kong. However, Avesh’s illness left India struggling for options in the fast bowling department, with only Hardik Pandya being a seam bowling choice in addition to Arshdeep and Bhuvneshwar.
Subsequently, defeat to Pakistan in a quite closely contested game, in which Virat Kohli scored a majestic 60, meant that the Men in Blue were under the pump for their game against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. A somewhat unsatisfactory performance with the bat followed by a horror show with the ball, especially in the initial stages, meant that Sri Lankan opener Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka raced to 97 in the space of 11 overs.
Although spinners Ashwin and Chahal managed to pull it back for India with four quick wickets, a regrettable show at the death from Hardik and Bhuvneshwar allowed the Lankan Lions to secure victory against the mighty Indians, all but knocking them out of the competition. Wednesday’s result, which saw Pakistan eking out a victory against Afghanistan confirmed India’s elimination.
Shastri was critical of India’s performance but felt that the selection of the squad was not ideal. Shastri said that the side had a lack of pacers but were light in the pace bowling department, a counterintuitive decision considering that the tournament was happening in the UAE.
“When you need to win, you got to prepare better. I think the selection could have been better, especially for the fast bowlers. You know the conditions here. There’s not much in it for the spinners. I was quite surprised that you came here with just four fast bowlers including Hardik.” S
hastri said on the Star Sports post-match programme.
“You needed that extra one. Someone like Mohammed Shami sitting at home and cooling his heels baffles me. After the IPL he had, for him not to be able to make the cut is… Obviously, I’m seeing something different.”
Shami was one of Gujarat’s vital cogs, picking up 20 wickets in 16 appearances. The pacer was brilliant in the powerplay, picking up 11 wickets, the joint highest in the competition along with Chennai’s Mukesh Choudhary. Shami’s economy in the powerplay was also at an impressive 6.62. His expensive nature at the death was perhaps the only negative aspect of his game, as he conceded at 9.63 an over.
When Pakistan legend Wasim Akram asked Shastri if the coach was in a way involved in the selection process, Shastri replied in the affirmative, saying that although the coach doesn’t select the squad, he could offer his input.
“He does. He’s not part of the selection. He can contribute by saying ‘this is the combination we want’ then it’s up to the captain in the meeting to take that forward.
“When I say planning, there should have been one extra fast bowler. One spinner less in a squad of15-16. You don’t want to be caught in a situation where one guy has a fever and then you have no one else to play. You have to play another spinner, which can be embarrassing in the end.”
Shastri added.
