Asia Cup 2022: If I Was Chairman Of Selection Committee, Mohammed Shami Would Have Been In Squad – Kris Srikkanth

Former India National Cricket Team selector Kris Srikkanth has said that the veteran right-arm pacer Mohammed Shami would have been in India’s Asia Cup 2022 squad if he was the chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee.

On Monday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India’s squad for the upcoming edition of the Asia Cup. Only three pacers – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan – were selected in the main squad and pacer Deepak Chahar was named as a stand-by player.

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Notably, premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah and death overs specialist Harshal Patel were ruled out of the tournament due to injuries and many expected the veteran pacer Mohammed Shami, who last played a T20I for India in the last year’s World Cup, to return to the T20I squad in the absence of star pacers. However, Shami was not included in the squad and many fans and pundits were surprised to see his exclusion.

Meanwhile, former India selector Srikkanth said that he would have selected Shami in place of leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi in the squad.

“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… – Kris Srikkanth

Former India selector Srikkanth further said that the squad of the India National Cricket Team for the Asia Cup is pretty good, but India are one pacer short. He was also pleased to see Deepak Hooda’s inclusion in the squad and disappointed to see Axar Patel’s exclusion from the main squad.

“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 fantastic, 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 blueprint for the ICC T20 World Cup also,” he elaborated.

The Asia Cup 2022, which is the 15th edition of the tournament, is scheduled to be played from August 27 to September 11. The entire tournament is set to be held in United Arab Emirates (UAE).

India’s Squad for Asia Cup 2022:

Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(Wk), Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik (Wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.

Backup: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Axar Patel.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2022: Twitter Reacts As Mohammed Shami Misses Out The Indian Squad For The Tournament

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