The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has recently unveiled the Indian squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. The new head coach, Gautam Gambhir, will kick off his tenure with a three-match ODI and T20I series against the Sri Lankan team on July 27.
One of the major talking points of the Indian squad for the Sri Lanka series is the appointment of Suryakumar Yadav as the new captain of the T20I side, edging out Hardik Pandya for the role. Additionally, the exclusion of the in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad from the T20I squad has raised eyebrows, especially after his impressive performance against Zimbabwe.
There has been criticism from pundits and former cricketers regarding the team selection, particularly surrounding Gaikwad’s omission and the inclusion of Rinku Singh in the ODI squad. Former Chennai Super Kings player, Subramaniam Badrinath, has made controversial comments about the selection process, hinting at the need for certain off-field attributes to make it into the team.
Badrinath’s Controversial Remarks
During a discussion on Cric Debate with Badri, Badrinath suggested that having a “bad guy image” and certain external factors could influence a player’s selection in the Indian team. His comments seemed directed at specific players who have been overlooked for the squad.
“Sometimes it seems like you need a bad guy image when the likes of Rinku Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad and others are not selected for the Indian team. It seems that you need to be in a relationship with some Bollywood actresses, have a good media manager, and have body tattoos.”
India’s Squad for Sri Lanka Tour
T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj.
ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.