The former player has slammed the inclusion of two players in the limited-overs squad against Australia.
The squad selections for India’s upcoming white-ball tour of Australia has created several confrontations among the fans and followers of the game. While the management has handed over the ODI leadership to Shubman Gill for starting the preparation for the ICC Men’s CWC 2027, many believe that captain Rohit Sharma deserved another chance to lift the elusive silverware, especially after successive unbeaten title-winning campaigns in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Amidst this, India’s 1983 World Cup-winning player, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, has brought up another aspect of the team selection.
The ex-Indian opener has taken a dig at the head coach Gautam Gambhir for his ambiguous team combination choices. Srikkanth questioned the recent Asia Cup 2025 snub of Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had showcased a brilliant run of form in his maiden Test tour of England.
While Shubman Gill was brought back to the T20I setup and handed over the vice-captaincy after a marvellous England outing as the Test captain of India, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter failed to secure a place in the 20-member squad for the multi-national tournament. Notably, he had put up 411 runs in five matches, including two centuries, following a spectacular run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
“By making such selections constantly, they are confusing the players themselves. Suddenly, Yashasvi Jaiswal is there and then next minute he won’t be there. There is only one permanent member – Harshit Rana. Nobody knows why he is there in the team,” stated the former batter on his YouTube channel.
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The former player has also slammed the inclusion of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana in the limited-overs squad for the forthcoming overseas series of India. Previously, he had also criticised Harshit after his expensive spell against Sri Lanka in the ACC Asia Cup 2025 Super Fours.
“By chopping and changing all the time, they’ll dent the confidence of the players. You should start building towards the 2027 World Cup. But if you pick Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy among the probabilities, then you can wave goodbye to the trophy,” opined Srikkanth.
Notably, the 23-year-old made his India debut in all three formats of the game soon after a remarkable title-winning season with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2024. Coincidentally, his 19 wickets in 13 matches of that season came under the mentorship of Gambhir. However, the bowler has produced an impressive performance in the 50-over format so far, by snaring 10 wickets in his five-match appearances at an economy of 5.69.
But Harshit could not replicate a similar performance in his early T20I matches, conceding an expensive 112 runs in just three fixtures while bagging five wickets. The youngster would look to turn around these stats in the upcoming white-ball series against Australia, starting on October 19 in Perth.
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