After Ravi Shastri , another former India international Krishnamachari Srikkanth absolutely expressed his dissatisfaction over team India head coach Gautam Gambhir. A few days ago, Srikkanth made strong claims against Gambhir, particularly regarding Harshit Rana. And now, once again, the former opener has strongly criticized team India’s performance under Gambhir’s coaching.
Exclusive statements by the former India opener
Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel, “I think this Test match could be a draw, but the policies are still wrong, which is clearly evident in the team selection. The question is why is Axar Patel not in the team? Was he unfit for this Test? Axar’s performance has been consistent at all levels. So, why so much manipulation in the selection?”
The former opener said, “Every other Test, someone is making their debut. They can call it trial and error. Gautam Gambhir can say anything. I don’t care about him. I’m a former captain and chief selector. I know very well what I’m saying. I’m not talking about my own hat here. You need consistency in performance. When the Indian team performed brilliantly in England, I praised it.” Srikkanth co-hosts the show with his son, Chennai Super Kings player Anirudh Srikkanth.
He further added, “I heard Kuldeep Yadav’s comments at the end of the second day’s play. He was calling the pitch a road, saying nothing would happen. But then we saw Indian batsmen getting out in the slips against Keshav Maharaj and Harmer. Additionally, they lost their wickets to bouncers against Jansen. Five batsmen were out against short-pitched deliveries.”
Srikkanth then took aim at the batsmen, saying, “Pant used his feet and tried to fly the ball. They can call it Pant’s natural game. But he’s the captain, and shouldn’t he be looking at the conditions?”
Then, he mentioned Nitish Reddy in the video by saying, , “Who calls Nitish Reddy an all-rounder? He scored a century at the MCG, but what has Nitish done since then? If Nitish is an all-rounder, then I am a great all-rounder. What I am saying is, how can you call him an all-rounder? Does he have swing? Does he have pace? He’s not even a formidable batsman. Why is he even in the ODI team? Is he a replacement for Hardik? Why not Axar Patel?”