‘India are afraid’: Former captain slams full-strength T20I squad selection for AFG series
2 min readSep 5, 2026 10:42 AM IST
India’s decision to name a full-strength team for the forthcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, even before four squad members have attained full fitness, has raised eyebrows.
The BCCI’s national selection committee picked pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar for a return during India’s unique ‘away’ series against Afghanistan in Delhi, starting September 13. The same contingent will also travel to defend India’s gold medal at the Asian Games in Japan later this month.
However, former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth has criticised the decision to field a full-strength squad for the three-match series against Afghanistan. Srikkanth claimed that the team management is apprehensive of the results after India suffered twin series defeats under Shreyas Iyer in Ireland and England, losing all six completed matches on the tour. A second-string unit then blanked Zimbabwe 3-0 in July.
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“After the series losses in Ireland and England, the selectors have decided not to take a chance and picked a full-strength squad for Afghanistan. They are going all guns blazing, but this is a mistake. It’s against teams like Afghanistan that you should try out youngsters. Instead, you’ve picked a full-strength squad out of fear,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
“It feels like a desperation move after the Ireland and England losses. But this squad is almost the same as the one they picked for England.”
Srikkanth also questioned the inclusion of Bumrah, Rana, Reddy and Sundar without proving their match fitness.
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“These four have not proved match-fitness. So on what basis are they subject to fitness? Just because you prove your fitness at the Bengaluru CoE, are you fit? That’s how Harshit Rana went to England, and then what happened to him there? So match-fitness is important,” said Srikkanth.
“This is not a question of ability. Harshit Rana has proved to be a very good bowler in T20s, and Nitish Kumar Reddy is brilliant in the short format. But why pick them without match-fitness being proven is the question,” Srikkanth said.
