Picture Credit: Twitter
Former India opener and chief selector Kris Srikkanth has expressed his displeasure over the inclusion of KL Rahul in India's 17-man squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. Srikkanth criticized the Indian selection panel, led by Ajit Agarkar, for picking Rahul, who is reportedly dealing with a new niggle and is likely to miss the opening match of the tournament.
Srikkanth said that if a player is not fit during selection, he should not be selected at all. He said that it was the policy of his selection panel to not pick any unfit players on the day of selection. He also questioned the logic of picking Sanju Samson as a traveling reserve for Rahul, who might play after a couple of matches.
“It's being said that KL Rahul has a niggle. If you have a niggle, don't pick him in the squad. If a player is not fit during selection, you shouldn't pick him. That was our policy. On the day of selection, if a player is not fit, don't select him,” Srikanth said on his YouTube channel.
He further added that the selection for the World Cup is a different issue, but the Asia Cup is also important. He quoted, “If you want to pick him for the World Cup, select him for the World Cup. That's a different issue. Now they are saying that he might play after a couple of matches, and that's why we have picked Sanju Samson as a traveling reserve. What's all this."
Srikkanth also gave an example of how his selection panel handled a similar situation in the past, when they decided to drop VVS Laxman, who was not fit on the day of a Test match against South Africa. He said that they also had to deal with Rohit Sharma's injury during a football session, which led to Wriddhiman Saha making his debut, and further accused the selectors of making it look like ‘Indians don’t have talent’.
KL Rahul has been out of action since May this year, when he underwent surgery for a thigh injury that he sustained during the IPL 2023. Rahul missed the World Test Championship final due to his injury and was expected to make his comeback in the Asia Cup, but his participation is now doubtful due to a new niggle.
India will begin their Asia Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 2 in Kandy. The tournament will be jointly hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and will also feature Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Oman as the other teams.
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