The Indian cricket fraternity has been left divided after the BCCI announced the 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 which will be played in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The inclusion of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer will boost confidence of the Indian team as both of them are proven players but nothing can be said about their match fitness as they haven’t played any competitive cricket since their return from National Cricket Academy.
They both have come after recovering from injury, while Shreyas Iyer has been declared completely fit, KL Rahul has got a fresh niggle. KL Rahul underwent surgery after getting his right calf injured during the IPL because of which he was ruled out of the whole IPL 2023.
The chief selector Ajit Agarkar says during the press conference that while Shreyas Iyer is completely fit, KL Rahul has got a fresh niggle but it is not his original injury and it is not very bad. He further says that KL Rahul may not play the first match but he will be able to play by the second or the third match of the Asia Cup. Agarkar says that the comeback of both the players is good for team India as they both are important players and they won’t be announcing the team for the World Cup before 5 September which is the deadline for announcing the team.
The former Indian cricketer Madan Lal is not happy with the selection of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer as he feels that it is a gamble played by the BCCI. Madan Lal feels that the selectors are still unsure of KL Rahul’s fitness and they should have made things clear about his injury. He adds that they are saying Shreyas Iyer is fit but there is no clarity about his match fitness as he hasn’t played any competitive cricket. Madan Lal is pretty clear that Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul shouldn’t have been selected before proving their match fitness because playing in nets and playing in a match is very different.
Madan Lal is also unhappy with the non-selection of Yuzvendra Chahal as he says that Yuzi is a match-winner and a wicket-taker and a team needs wicket-takers if it has to win matches. Talking about the selection of Axar Patel, Madan Lal says that he has done pretty well in the last couple of years but the Indian team already has Ravindra Jadeja for doing what Axar Patel does.
Talking about the squad, Madan Lal said that other than selection of injured players and omisson of Yuzvendra Chahal, the squad has been selected as per his expectations.
Do you also agree with Madan Lal or do you have a different opinion? Let us know your views in this regard.
