Who said what - Top 3 expert reactions to India's squads for Australia ODIs ft. Harbhajan Singh
In a bid to fine-tune their preparations for the upcoming ODI World Cup, India will lock horns with Australia in a three-match ODI series starting Friday, September 22. The three games will be played in Mohali, Indore and Rajkot.
BCCI announced two separate squads for the upcoming series, one for the first two ODIs and another for the third game. Stalwarts like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya have been rested for the first two matches.
KL Rahul has been named captain in Sharma's absence. Ravichandran Ashwin also returns to the ODI setup after a long time. He last featured in an ODI back in January 2022 but has now been picked with an eye on the World Cup which kicks off on October 5.
The squad attracted mixed reactions from fans and experts. Some felt that resting the seniors was a good move while others felt that they should have been selected. Here, we look at the top three expert reactions to India's squads for Australia ODIs:
#1 Harbhajan Singh
World Cup champion Harbhajan Singh felt that India realized their mistake of not picking an off-spinner in the World Cup squad and hence moved to pick Ashwin.
He said on his YouTube channel:
"First Washington Sundar, who wasn't in the original squad was called there. After that, a second player has been added for this series and that is R Ashwin. So somewhere or the other, Team India are searching for off-spinners. They have probably realized their mistake that they haven't picked an off-spinner in the team and that our bowlers can get into trouble if a lot of left-handers come in front of them."
The former spinner also questioned the selectors for leaving out Yuzvendra Chahal. He believes the leg-spinner deserves to be part of the team on the basis of merit.
"Yuzvendra Chahal should have been here. He has not been given an opportunity. It is beyond my understanding. Either he has fought with someone or he has said something to someone, I don't know," he said.
He further added:
"Team India have to continue the winning habit they developed in the Asia Cup. They have the ability to beat Australia as well. The team is slightly weak for the first two matches but I believe this slightly weak team can also come out on top against them."
#2 Robin Uthappa
Former India batter Robin Uthappa expressed surprise over the non-selection of Sanju Samson despite him being a part of the setup during the Asia Cup as a reserve player.
"No one would wanna be in Sanju's shoes right now," his tweet read.
He sent out another tweet, claiming the only reason behind Samson's exclusion could be that he would not get a game anyway.
"The justification could be that even if he was in the squad he wouldn’t get a game. But not even being in the squad would be quite disheartening," he wrote.
Samson, 28, has been in and around the Indian setup for a while now but hasn't got as many opportunities as he would have liked. Even when picked, he wasn't given a consistent run. Only recently, the selectors picked the uncapped Tilak Verma ahead of him for the Asia Cup.
Several others, including former pacer Irfan Pathan, expressed displeasure at the selectors' decision. Pathan said that if he was in Samson's place, he would be extremely disappointed.
#3 Saba Karim
Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim explained the idea behind Ashwin's comeback just a few days ahead of the marquee event. Speaking on Jio TV, Karim said that the senior off-spinner has been picked because of his attacking nature. He believes Ashwin will be a match-winning option for Rohit Sharma.
“I think Rohit Sharma looks at Ravichandran Ashwin as a match-winner and he’s very clear in the kind of approach he wants to portray in white ball cricket. Now with the World Cup coming up, he understands the dynamics of one-day cricket quite well and knows that he has to pick players who have that kind of an attacking mindset," he stated.
He was also quite happy that Shreyas Iyer was selected despite his recent back issue. He heaped praise on Iyer, also urging the management to back Iyer even if he failed in a few games.
"I am glad that they are persisting with Shreyas Iyer. It really shows that the team management and selectors trust him so much. And Shreyas played a very vital role in the one-day setup. So, I am happy to see that they are backing him right till they announce the World Cup side.
"I don't think there should be any issue with him being part of the side if he's fit, even if he does not score runs in these two or three games - it does not matter. You need to back players who have done well for you in the past and they in any case get three ODI games here plus the two practice matches," he said.