‘This is a mistake’: Srikkanth slams India’s ‘fear-driven’ squad for Afghanistan series

Srikkanth calls India's Afghanistan squad a "feardriven" mistake

Namaste, cricket family 🙏

The former India captain hasn't let up, and Kris Srikkanth is calling the selectors' Afghanistan T20I squad a big miss. His verdict? It's all "fear" driving the choices.

What he's saying:

After India's 2-0 loss to Ireland and 4-1 hammering by England in July, the team picked a full-strength XI for the Afghanistan series. Srikkanth thinks this is a mistake. He feels fringe players deserve a longer run in home conditions against a weaker opponent—exactly when you experiment, not play safe.

He questioned why the selectors quickly reverted to familiar faces after testing newcomers in Zimbabwe. "It feels like a desperation move," he said.

Bigger concern—match fitness:

Srikkanth also flagged that several key bowlers haven't proven match fitness. He pointed to Harshit Rana's England collapse as a cautionary tale. Just clearing fitness at the Bengaluru CoE isn't the same as match readiness.

The squad:

Shreyas Iyer holds the captaincy with Tilak Varma as VC. Experienced names like Bumrah, Samson, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Arshdeep, Dube and Varun Chakravarthy are in. 15yo Vaibhav Sooryavanshi kept his spot after his Zimbabwe showing.

Hardik Pandya misses out after another rehab setback. Bumrah, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Sundar and Rana all await fitness clearance.

When: Three T20Is on Sept 13, 15 & 17, all at Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi.

What do you all think—right call or missed opportunity? Let's discuss! 💬

Source: Times of India