Former Indian chairman of selectors Kris Srikkanth has slammed the Indian skipper, Shreyas Iyer, and the chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, for selecting Mumbai and Punjab Kings all-rounder Suryansh Shedge as Hardik Pandya’s replacement.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth has questioned the Punjab Kings’ all-rounder Suryansh’s selection despite not giving good enough returns in domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“This is the guy they are trying to brand as Hardik Pandya’s replacement. He has clearly been picked out of the Mumbai and Punjab Kings quota. He has done nothing substantial in the IPL and rarely even bowls. Scoring the odd 30, even I’ll do at my age. He is selected because Shreyas Iyer is the Mumbai and Punjab Kings captain and Ajit Agarkar is the selector from Mumbai,” Kris Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
In the fifth and final T20I against England in Southampton, Suryansh Shedge could score only seven runs in six balls. Moreover, with the ball in hand, he conceded 39 runs in his three-over spell without picking a wicket.
“He is getting promoted as an all-rounder. The military medium pace that he is bowling, even with my terrible eyesight at 66, I’ll smash him. Players like Shedge should be in the shed. He has been named correctly as Shedge as he should be in the shed. You can’t be picking players on quota. He can’t bat or bowl and is a liability even on the field,” he added.
Furthermore, the former Indian batter questioned the selection committee for not including players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal Pandya, Mohsin Khan, Gurnoor Brar and Rajat Patidar in the shortest format of the game.
“Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal Pandya, Mohsin Khan and maybe Gurnoor Brar can come in. Instead of playing guys like Shedge and Dube, multiple others can be given chances. Why is Rajat Patidar not being picked? What wrong did he do? Won’t he hit that six Dube hits? He can hit much bigger and better than Dube against spin and pace. Dube can do nothing against pace,” he concluded.
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