"Why would you drop in-form Deepak Hooda for a very out-of-form Virat Kohli" - Netizens react as India make four changes for 2nd T20I vs England
Team India are set to take on England in the second T20I of their three-match series at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on Saturday, July 9. The hosts have won the toss and elected to bowl first on the surface.
The Rohit Sharma-led side have made four changes for the encounter. The likes of Deepak Hooda, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan and Axar Patel have made way for Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant.
Many fans and experts had predicted that the visitors would not tinker much with their winning combination after their dominant 50-run win in the series opener.
However, the team management decided to add their senior campaigners to the playing XI as they gear up for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022.
Many fans took to social media to react to the changes. Several netizens questioned Deepak Hooda's exclusion as he has shown tremendous form in recent outings.
Furthermore, they also expressed their displeasure with Arshdeep Singh not being a part of the squad. Here are some of the reactions:
@BCCI No Hooda No Fun Not a Good decision ๐
@mipaltan Oh my god why No Deepak hooda, why no Arshadeep!!! Mental health is not good for Indian team management and donโt need Virat Kohli anymore in team
Why will you drop inform Hooda for a very out of form Kohli. ๐ค๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ
@KShriniwasRao Hooda Arshdeep out, Kohli Pant in ... Sums up BCCI selection policy
Dropping Deepak Hooda after all his splendid knocks, Indian Cricket Team is a joke. #ENGvIND
@KShriniwasRao Name > Form.
Hope Hooda doesn't loose his confidence!
Are you kidding me you're playing Pant instead of Hooda, who deserve to play in place of Rishabh it's like he's on fire and you just put water on him ๐
I think arshdeep is more talented than harshal patel and Umran malik and still got only one match to play and now not even in the squad ๐๐คฆ
I don't know at whose place.. but I would had liked Hooda playing today. #ENGvIND
A test batsman is preferred over Huda and also @RishabhPant17 who has done tramandous job in red ball but in white ball he just average playing by removing @ishankishan51 ye india ka team nhi ye @BCCI ka team hai. These people favor only people from Delhi and Mumbai.
I know itโs harsh, extremely harsh on many players, but this is likely to be the road taken. Shuffle, select, drop, retain..!
#ViratKohli #DeepakHooda #Arshdeep #Bumrah #IshanKishan #INDvsENG
i think Deepak Hooda has been given some time off to prepare for captaincy on Zimbabwe tour.
Explain me how Pant instead of Hooda? This is not based on talent, this is not based on current form. Then what is this based on? Rahul Dravid would say they are grooming him for WC. It's been 45 matches since this grooming started. Unreal favouritism from Dravid, Rohit and BCCI.
India have accommodated Virat Kohli in the lineup. Their only batter in top 10 rankings Ishan Kishan misses out. Ishan scored two fifties and was the highest run-scorer for India vs South Africa. Deepak Hooda gets dropped too, averaging 68 in four innings to bring Pant. #ENGvIND
This is ridiculous, you feel for D.Hooda, how come he is not in the XI and Pant is included. It seems if you are Pant, you will play every match, but for any other player, he will be dropped after scoring 100 also. Ishan is also dropped but not pant. #hooda #pant #BCCI
It is worth mentioning that Deepak Hooda was the Player of the Series in the recent two-match T20I series in Ireland. He also made a significant impact in the first T20I against England with his quick-fire knock of 33 from just 17 deliveries.
Meanwhile, the second T20I is a must-win one for England. The Men in Blue currently lead the series 1-0 and will secure a series victory over the hosts if they win at Edgbaston.
India vs England 2nd T20I playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Yuzvendra Chahal.
England: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, David Willey, Chris Jordan, Richard Gleeson, and Matthew Parkinson.