Former Indian cricketer Kris Srikkanth has always had the knack of making controversial comments, and with his YouTube channel, the Chekky Cheeka, he has often left the Indian fans baffled with his preferences. He has now suggested players like Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah should not play all matches.
India have also been troubled enough by several injury blows. Axar Patel was threatened with an injury scare in the very first game he played in the NZ series, as he left the ground with a bleeding finger.
India have anyway taken a different approach for their injury-prone players, like Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. The two stars were rested for the ODI leg of the series, as they felt Hardik Pandya, who just returned from injury, should get enough time and space to revamp his flexibility.
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“I think the likes of Bumrah and Hardik should not play a game or two” – Kris Srikkanth
Former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth believes that players like Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah should not be featured in all games for India. Rather, he turns out to be the first among former cricketers who have supported the policy of workload management.
“I would still prefer India batting first and playing like this. But I want to also see them chasing 200, so it is a practice. It will be challenging in the World Cup if you are chasing, and in every situation, you will not always get to bat first,” Kris Srikkanth said first on India’s preference towards batting first.
He has then called out for a rotation of players, as there is not enough time to recover if a player gets injured during this phase, when the ICC World Cup is less than three weeks away.
“My only concern is injury. Axar got injured, and we don’t want key players getting injured. I think the likes of Bumrah and Hardik should not play a game or two. There should be rotation because there is no time for recovery if you get injured,” he said on ‘Cheeky Cheeka.’
“He was riding with Abhishek Sharma,” Srikkanth lauds Suryakumar Yadav, but with a sense of disappointment
Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav has struggled with poor form ever since he was appointed the captain of the team. Struggling for form, the batter might lose his Indian T20I spot to some other player at the end of the ICC T20 World Cup, which might also be his last assignment as the captain of the team.
Going into the NZ series, Surya showed some glimpses of a fine touch as he scored fluently alongside Abhishek Sharma. The two batters put on a massive 99-run stand, and Suryakumar too contributed with 32 runs off 22 balls.
However, Surya could not convert it into something bigger and was dismissed for 32. Kris Srikkanth felt that he could have batted longer and taken the score further had he taken his innings deeper into the game.
“What are you doing, Surya? You got out for 32; you had a 50 in your hands. It has been a long time. He played well. He was riding with Abhishek Sharma. He should have just continued like that for a while more,” Kris Srikkanth said.
“Batting first is always a big advantage for India” – Kris Srikkanth
The former Indian player has opined that batting first in T20Is is a huge advantage for the Indian team. He reflected on the fact that teams are always under pressure when the chase is over 200 runs. He even observed that had India been chasing such a huge total, it would have imposed an unwanted demand for run scoring on Abhishek Sharma.
“When you bat first and score more than 200, you have psychologically won the battle. I will tell this as an opener: when you see a target of 250, you tend to get scared. You always have to go for hitting.”
“Suppose India were chasing this target, it would have become compulsory for Abhishek to score big. It is that much more difficult when you are chasing. Batting first is always a big advantage for India,” Kris Srikkanth added.
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