I would have picked Shami instead of Harshal in India’s T20 World Cup Squad: Krishnamachari Srikkanth

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia on Monday. The squad was pretty much on the expected lines, with most familiar names in it.

There were no surprise inclusions but Harshal Patel and Jasprit Bumrah, who were ruled out of the Asia Cup recently due to injuries, returned to the squad after regaining full fitness. Four standby players have been announced as well, which includes the likes of Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar and Shreyas Iyer.

But former India opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth is of the opinion that Shami should have been in the original squad instead of Harshal.

“If I was the chairman of the selection committee, (Mohammed) Shami is definitely in the team. We are playing in Australia, the guy’s got the real action, the guy’s got bounce, he can bare the moment and he can get on early wickets, so I would have probably got Shami instead of Harshal Patel,” said Srikkanth on Star Sports.

“Yes, Harshal Patel is a good bowler, no doubt about it, but Mohammad Shami is the right guy, I mean they can say not the scheme of things, he’s only for test cricket or one day cricket but we are playing in Australia. That guy has done well last IPL, so Shami is the must in my team,” Srikkanth added.

Shami enjoyed an excellent stint in the IPL earlier this year as he won the title with newbies Gujarat Titans. The pacer played a key role in their success. He featured in 16 matches for the Titans and picked up 20 wickets at an economy rate of 8.00 and strike-rate of 18.30.

“Mohammed Shami is a frontline bowler. You check his IPL record from last year. Fantastic! He has got early wickets. Who will give (early wickets)?” questioned Srikkanth.

Besides Harshal Patel and Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh are the two other pacers in the original squad. Deepak Chahar is another pacer who has been named as standby along with Shami.