Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth has questioned India’s ‘pedestrian’ bowling after the hosts lost the third ODI against the West Indies at New Chandigarh on Saturday. The 1983 World Cup winning player slammed the team’s think tank for developing random players like Gurnoor Brar and Anshul Kamboj.
Srikkanth reckons India won’t be able to win the ODI World Cup with this bowling attack. India conceded 405 runs in the second game at Guwahati and then could not defend despite putting 351 runs on the board at New Chandigarh on Saturday.
Kamboj conceded 82 runs in nine overs he bowled on ODI debut whereas Srikkanth questioned Gill for not completing Mohammed Siraj’s quota of 10 overs.
“Mohammed Siraj had two overs left, and even if he had bowled the 50th over, he would have bowled only nine overs. I didn’t understand that logic. Siraj should have bowled the last over that Kamboj did. Indian bowling overall is so pedestrian. There is no chance of winning the World Cup with this bowling. India are just trying to develop random guys like Gurnoor Brar and Anshul Kamboj. There is no logic behind this,” said Srikkanth on his YouTube channel, Cheeky Cheeka.
Srikkanth also questioned the batting line-up for scoring only 350 runs against a depleted West Indies attack.
He said, “Even with such a pathetic West Indian attack, India only scored 350. And this is the full team except Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. You can’t lose a game to a side like the West Indies.”
The former Indian captain said the team management is adamant in making Nitish Kumar Reddy an all-rounder. Srikkanth questioned Reddy’s batting ability on bouncy pitches.
He concluded, “Once the ball bounces slightly high, Nitish Kumar Reddy is a case and struggles. He keeps bowling even as he’s getting smashed. They are adamant on making him an all-rounder somehow. It’s not a good sign for Indian cricket. His batting also looks suspect on bouncy wickets.”
India will next take on the West Indies in a five-match T20I series, starting Tuesday.
