Former player Subramaniam Badrinath mocked India head coach Gautam Gambhir, saying his preferred players are back in the team for the three-T20I series against Afghanistan. While he didn’t specify the names, the likes of Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Varun Chakravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah have been recalled to the side for the upcoming bilateral assignment.
Badrinath highlighted the chances Sundar is getting and urged him to make full use of the opportunities. He didn’t like the selection of Nitish Kumar Reddy, calling him a batter.
“The coach’s favourites are back. Washington Sundar is getting backing, and he needs to make use of it. I don’t rate Nitish Kumar Reddy highly because he is not a good bowler. He is a batter and his not good with the ball,” he said.
Afghanistan will host India in Delhi, starting September 13.
Bumrah’s return is good news for India, says Subramaniam Badrinath
Subramaniam Badrinath mentioned that Jasprit Bumrah’s return is the biggest positive for the Men in Blue ahead of the Afghanistan series. The veteran pacer was ruled out of the two-Test series against Sri Lanka due to a knee injury sustained during the second ODI against England.
Badrinath feels Bumrah would have urged the selectors to include him in the team despite the series against Afghanistan being a low-profile affair.
“Bumrah’s return is positive news. I feel Bumrah would have told the management that he wanted to be a part of three matches. They selected him. We don’t know about it. Bumrah might have had a word with Gambhir or the selectors because he hasn’t played cricket for long. It could have been Bumrah’s choice,” Badrinath said.
He also welcomed the return of wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson.
“I like Sanju Samson’s selection. They are changing his place too much, and it is good to see him back in the team.”
Samson was dropped from the Playing XI during the T20I series against England. He made a return to the starting XI for the fifth and final game of the series but was not considered for three matches in Zimbabwe.