Reports: BCCI Miffed With Team India Management Over The Latter's Request For The Addition Of Prithvi Shaw And Devdutt Padikkal In The Test Squad

A battle seems to have ensued between Team India’s management and the Board of Control for Cricket in India [BCCI] over the replacement of the injured opener Shubman Gill for the Test series against England.

After it was learned that Shubman Gill will miss the Test series in England due to shin injury, Team India think-tank had put in a request with the BCCI to add Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal to the touring contingent; a request that has now been shot down by the board.

Both Shaw and Padikkal are currently in Sri Lanka for the white-ball fixtures and it is near impossible for them to travel to the UK before the end of the series.

The Indian selectors had picked Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul as backup openers in the original squad along with Abhimanyu Easwaran as one of the standby players.

But the Indian team management’s interpretation of these players is a bit different. While Mayank Agarwal is set to replace the injured Shubman Gill at the top of the order, KL Rahul is been looked at as a middle-order option.

Uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran does not seem to be anywhere near the management’s scheme of things and hence if Mayank ends up getting injured or if he fails to perform then India will have no backup opener in their ranks.

While India’s request to integrate Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal is understandable, what the BCCI is miffed about is why these two players weren’t considered for the original squad?

A source close to the BCCI was quoted as saying by Times of India that if Prithvi Shaw was not considered in the original squad then what has changed now.

Also, the BCCI does not want to throw rookie opener Devdutt Padikkal at the deep end.

“When Prithvi Shaw was not considered in the pool of 24 players who travelled, why should it be any different now? As for Devdutt Padikkal, well, he’s a great talent but doesn’t deserve to be pushed to the wall like this. His time will come”, BCCI sources told the Times of India.

Also Read- Prithvi Shaw Doesn’t Want To Warm The Bench In England: BCCI Sources