NEW DELHI: India’s decision to field a full-strength squad for the upcoming Afghanistan T20I series has drawn sharp criticism from former cricketer Kris Srikkanth, who believes the selectors missed a valuable opportunity to expose more youngsters to international cricket.Srikkanth described the selection as a “mistake” and suggested that the recent defeats in Ireland and England had influenced the selectors into playing it safe rather than experimenting with the squad.India suffered a 0-2 T20I series defeat against Ireland before being beaten 0-4 by England in July. With the Afghanistan series offering three matches in familiar home conditions, Srikkanth felt it was the ideal setting to give fringe players a longer run.“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.

‘A desperation move’ after England, Ireland losses

Srikkanth also questioned why the selectors had moved so quickly back towards an experienced combination after using the Zimbabwe series to test players outside the regular setup.“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,” he added.India have named a 15-member squad for the three T20Is, with Shreyas Iyer continuing as captain and Tilak Varma as his deputy. Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube and Varun Chakaravarthy are among the experienced names included, while 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has retained his place after an encouraging Zimbabwe series.The Afghanistan series will be played in New Delhi on September 13, 15 and 17, with all three games scheduled at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.Bumrah’s return is, however, subject to fitness clearance, as are Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana. Hardik Pandya, meanwhile, has missed out after suffering another setback during his rehabilitation.

Srikkanth questions ‘match fitness’

The former India captain also raised concerns over the inclusion of players whose match fitness remains untested.“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.His comments come as Bumrah, Nitish, Sundar and Rana are all awaiting fitness clearance before their participation in the Afghanistan series is confirmed.For Srikkanth, however, the bigger issue is the opportunity cost. Rather than using the three-match series to assess emerging options, he believes India have responded to their recent setbacks by reverting to a familiar combination.

India squad for Afghanistan T20Is

(NOTE: *Subject to fitness clearance)