'Too good a cricketer not to be in India's playing XI': Kris Srikkanth calls India batsman a 'class act'
India vs England: Former captain Kris Srikkanth expects India to include the batsman in the Playing XI for England T20Is.
Everyone is pondering what would India's team composition be for the T20I series against England starting Friday. As batting coach Vikram Rathour recently pointed out, by the end of the series, the management will get a clear picture as to which players will make it to the India squad for the T20 World Cup scheduled later this year. Hence, a lot rides on the upcoming five matches between the two teams.
When the squad for India's T20I series against England was announced, it packed a few pleasant surprises as batsmen Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Rahul Tewatia earned maiden India call-ups based on their fine show in the IPL 2020 and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, but whether any of them gets a game for India remains to be seen.
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While the battle for the No. 4 spot is expected to be intense, former India captain Kris Srikkanth expects India to include Yadav in the Playing XI. With Shreyas Iyer being India's bankable No. 4 option, giving Yadav or Kishan a go may be a tricky call to be made, but the former opening batsman reckons a batsman of Yadav's class deserves to be given a chance.
"Suryakumar Yadav is a class act... a top-class batsman and too good a cricketer not to be in India's playing XI but then there are so much talent and depth in Indian batting that who do you drop is the big question. But yes, he deserves to get a look in. I wish him all the best for a glittering career ahead," Srikkanth told Inside Sport.
India captain Virat Kohli informed that it will be the pair of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma to open the innings for India, but the rest of the team composition makes for a problem of plenty. Barring the toss up for the No. 4 spot, what bowling combination India go ahead with will be interesting to see. The return of Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a key area India would want to focus, along with the three spinners-two pacers debate.
