Asia Cup 2022: “In my team, Shami was literally there" - K Srikkanth baffled by Mohammad Shami's exclusion from India's squad

Former Indian World Cup winner K Srikkanth couldn't believe that veteran pacer Mohammad Shami was left out of Team India's Asia Cup 2022 squad. The BCCI announced the 15-member squad on Monday and named Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, and Avesh Khan as the main pacers.

Srikkanth feels India have taken one spinner too many in their squad. They have four options in Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi. The former selector opined that the Men in Blue could have easily fitted Shami in place of one of those spinners, probably Bishnoi.

Speaking on Star Sports here's what K Srikkanth had to say about Shami's exclusion:

“In my team, Shami was literally there. If I was the Chairman of the selection committee, I think Shami would have been there and probably, I would not have gone with Ravi Bishnoi. But I still believe that Axar Patel was a serious contender in my team. It would have been a big toss-up between Axar Patel and Ashwin.”

K Srikkanth on Axar Patel's exclusion from India's Asia Cup squad

K Srikkanth was gutted by all-rounder Axar Patel's situation, as the latter is named in the reserves but not in the main squad. The 28-year-old had a good tour of the West Indies, and showed how he could have a match-winning impact with the bat as well. The former Indian opener also spoke about Deepak Hooda's selection and stated:

"What I like about Deepak Hooda is that he’s a good striker of the ball, he’s a flirter. Otherwise, this is a fantastic squad, only feel bad for Axar Patel. I still believe that he’s a good bowling all-rounder, maybe in Australia conditions. I am not going for just the Asia Cup, but yes, this must be a blue print for the ICC T20 World Cup also.”

India's Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.

Reserves: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar and Axar Patel