Let us face it. It was Rahul Dravid who was responsible for the loss in the 3rd ODI against Sri Lanka. India were expected to wallop Sri Lanka in all the 6 games but have already dropped one. Courtesy, Rahul Dravid because I do not think that Shikhar Dhawan, though the captain, has the capacity to question someone of Rahul’s stature. No, Shikhar does not have it. He was perhaps overawed by Dravid. This must have been Dravid’s and only Dravid’s decision. It was a mistake to replace 5 players.
Chetan Sakariya, Rahul Chahar, Nitish Rana, Krishnappa Gowtham & Sanju Samson made their debut during the 3rd ODI against Sri Lanka. Out went some players who performed during the previous couple of games with Krunal Pandya & Deepak Chahar among them. It is not wrong for players to make their debut. Afterall every player must make their debut at some point in their career. However, to make 5 changes to a winning combination with rookies was downright irresponsible.
Playing for India is not a joke
Rahul Dravid of all the cricketers must know the value of international games. He himself had to slog at the domestic level before making his debut. He must know how tough it is to play at the international level. For him to handover debut to 5 players at just one stroke was something unDravid like.
He must have known better. Giving chances to players is onething but winning the game is much more important. International wins is something that is cherished and it must not be sacrificed for the benefit of a few.
It is alright for players like Rana, Gowtham & Sakariya to be part of an expanded squad of 20 but to make them play in a game albeit a dead rubber, speaks of not caring for the players who have been in the system for a longer time and have done reasonably well. If a left hander was required, Unadkat was a better prospect than Sakariya.
Take the case of Gowtham
He is hardly known to anyone even within Karnataka. In 10 years of first class cricket, he hasn’t performed extraordinarily and he was also involved in a controversy when he skipped Duleep Trophy citing illness but played in the Karnataka Premier League. This shows the attitude of a player who did not care. How was he even in the expanded squad is beyond me. At 33 years of age, he is unlikely to replace Jadeja, Chahal or Kuldeep or even Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya in the limited overs team. What was the point in taking him to Sri Lanka and on top of that, make him play? It was ridiculous.
Chetan Sakariya
His first class career is modest. So far. He does not have the built of a fast bowler. He can neither swing the ball nor can he bowl quick. Sakariya really has had a tough year with twin tragedy at a personal level. Whether that was the reason for his selection in the squad? I do not know.
What Dravid must have done?
If at all Dravid wanted to change the team, he must have stopped at 2 or at the most 3 players. He could have dropped the non-performing players like Manish Pandey and Hardik Pandya. More about them later. Krunal Pandya has done reasonably well in the 5 games that he has played so far. He was economical with the ball in the first and second games. He must have played instead of Hardik. Kumar and Chahar who hardly get to play any game must have played as well. Especially, after their match and series winning partnership.
It is understandable that Sanju Samson, who is the first choice wicket keeper, made his debut. He replaced Ishan Kishan the second wicket keeper made sense. Rahul Chahar taking over from either Kuldeep or Chahal was alright too but I do not see any merit in the rest of the selection.
Aakash Chopra is correct.
“But when you are talking about young kids, who are just cutting their teeth into international cricket… Ishan Kishan just made his debut two matches ago, Prithvi Shaw has played as many as four One-Day games. There isn’t a lot of cricket these guys have played and now you want to change them to try somebody else. What will you find out in one game? I don’t know.”
What did Dravid hope to find out by giving these players just one game? It is baffling.
The curious case of Manish Pandey
I think Manish Pandey has certainly played his last games for India. This was a golden opportunity for him to stamp his authority. This was an opportunity for him to remind the Indian selectors and the Indian team management what they have missed. He failed. Utterly. Three games against a Sri Lankan side not exactly brimming with confidence, if I were in Pandey’s shoes, I would have wanted to score atleast one hundred. He got lot of overs in all the 3 games and he wasted every single one of them. Other players like Surya, Ishan, Sanju, Shreyas have gained a march over him that at 33, he is not going to effective any longer. Though his fielding remains an asset. However, you do not play international cricket just for your fielding unless you are Jonty Rhodes. It is time he is shown the door.
Another curious care of Hardik Pandya
Pandya is another cricketer who is giving the impression that he does not really care. He is outrageously talented but he seems to have his priorities elsewhere. Probably with Mumbai Indians. His bowling has regressed for him to be considered an allrounder. He struggled for runs in the recent England limited overs series where he could hardly get the ball off the square and in Sri Lanka. It is time the board has a discussion with him to understand what his priority is. If he is content playing in IPL, so be it. India will have to look elsewhere for a seam bowling allrounder. If he wants to play for India, then he must be told to shape up quickly. There were talks of making Hardik the captain for the Sri Lanka series. It is good that he wasn’t. He does not deserve to be the captain.
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