Srinagar: BCCI on Monday announced its 15 member Asia cup squad with former India opener and chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth surprised to see no Mohammad Shami in the list.
The Asia Cup 2022 will start on August 27 in Dubai. The 15 member squad sees return of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul while as Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out due to injury. However it is omission of pacer Mohammad Shami that has surprised everyone with Krishnamachari Srikkanth no exception.
In the 15-member squad announced Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, and Arshdeep Singh are the designated fast bowlers with all-rounder Hardik Pandya being the extra seam-bowling option. Shami’s exclusion came in as a bit of a surprise as experienced pacer Jasprit Bumrah and T20I specialist Harshal Patel were not available due to injuries.
“In my team, Shami was literally there. If I was the Chairman of the selection committee, I think Shami would have been there and probably, I would not have gone with Ravi Bishnoi. But I still believe that Axar Patel was a serious contender in my team. It would have been a big toss-up between Axar Patel and Ashwin,” Srikkanth said on Star Sports’ show ‘Follow the Blues’.
“I think the squad is pretty good but I think we would need one more medium pacer. We are going with one medium pacer short. Two wrist spinners is fine. I feel bad for Axar Patel, who has missed out. I am very happy for Deepak Hooda – he can bowl a bit, he’s a good hitter and he’s a good striker of the ball. What I like about Deepak Hooda is that he’s a good striker of the ball, he’s a flirter. Otherwise, this squad is a fantastic squad, only feel bad for Axar Patel. I still believe that he’s a good bowling all-rounder, maybe in Australia conditions. I am not going for just the Asia Cup, but yes, this must be a blue print for the ICC T20 World Cup also,” Srikkanth said.