Former chairman of selectors Kris Srikkanth has slammed Sanjay Manjrekar for questioning KL Rahul’s inclusion in the Test squad, stating that Manjrekar can’t think beyond Bombay. Srikkanth, who played 43 Test matches and 146 ODIs for India, called Manjrekar’s views ‘rubbish’.
"Leave Sanjay Manjrekar alone, he doesn't have any other job," Srikkanth said in his YouTube channel Cheeky Cheeka. "Questioning KL Rahul's selection in Tests? He has played well in Tests. I won't agree at all. Just because Sanjay wants to question something, I don't think I'll agree. You shouldn't question something just to create a controversy. KL Rahul has done brilliantly in all formats. Go through his Test record.
Rahul hasn’t clicked in Test cricket over the past couple of years. The elegant batter in white-ball format hasn’t hit a fifty in his last 12 innings in Tests. Barring a 149 in a dead-rubber contest - the fifth Test against England at The Oval in 2018, Rahul has averaged 22.23 in 27 Test innings since the start of 2018.
Anirudha, Srikkanth’s son and host of the show pointed out that Manjrekar’s analysis isn’t too illogical as Rahul was dropped from Tests due to poor form for the home season last year. Srikkanth opined that the Karnataka cricketer is a good player of fast bowling and that Rahul has hit a hundred in Australia.
"He might have been inconsistent but the same KL Rahul made his debut in Australia and made a century. He's a good player of fast bowling. Let's understand, he's a very good player of fast bowling," he said.
"Sanjay Manjrekar cannot think beyond Bombay. That's the problem. We are talking neutral. Manjrekar cannot think beyond Bombay. For people like Manjrekar, everything is Bombay, Bombay and Bombay. They have to think beyond Bombay."
Srikkanth also went on to say that commentator Harsha Bhogle isn’t neutral in his views and that he is biased towards Bombay cricketers. The 60-year-old said he is talking about Surya Kumar Yadav’s inclusion in the limited-overs squad instead of fighting over Dinesh Karthik and Ravi Ashwin’s snub.
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