India Vs England 2021: Virender Sehwag Slams Team India Management For 'Partiality In Selection' For Batsmen And Bowlers

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag has come down hard on the Virat Kohli-led Indian think-tank, alleging that the team-management of partiality in selection when it comes to parameters for batsmen and bowlers.

Sehwag pointed towards the selection of KL Rahul in the first ODI to state his displeasure against Team India benching leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.

Both KL Rahul and Yuzvendra Chahal faced an axe from the playing 11 following poor performances in the T20I series. While Chahal was dropped after the third match, Rahul suffered the same fate in the series-decider.

However, Rahul was reinstated in the playing 11 for the first ODI while Chahal has continued to warm the bench with India opting for Kuldeep Yadav.

Speaking on CricBuzz Live, Sehwag asked if Team India would have given the same treatment to Jasprit Bumrah had he endured poor outings in 4-5 matches just like Chahal?

“You snub bowlers after one game, but you gave 4 matches to KL Rahul then sat him out in the 5th game. So, if you give bowlers that many chances there will be poor games for them too. If this was [Jasprit] Bumrah and he had 4 moderate outings, will you have thought to exclude Bumrah as well? No, you would have said ‘he’s a good bowler, he will make a comeback.’,” Virender Sehwag said on Cricbuzz

“Yuzvendra Chahal is your top T20 bowler, he gives you wickets, and he got 2-3 bad games and now is out of the team. One is a top bowler in ICC rankings and other is the top batter, so why partiality in them? I don’t understand this concept,” he added.

That said, Yuzvendra Chahal has been poor in both ODI and T20I cricket in the last 18 months. Since the start of August 2019, Chahal has managed just 8 wickets in 5 ODIs at an average of 37.12. As far as T20Is is concerned, he has accounted for just 16 wickets in 17 games at an average of 37.68 and an economy rate of 9.13.

Meanwhile, KL Rahul barring the T20I series against England has been outstanding in both ODIs and T20Is in the past 18 months. The Karnataka batsman vindicated his selection with an unbeaten 43-ball 62 in the first ODI.

Also Read- VVS Laxman And Sunil Gavaskar In Awe Of Krunal Pandya After His Record-Breaking ODI Debut