"I will never feel it is justified" - Saba Karim on Team India's reported demand for two additional openers

Saba Karim has said that Team India's reported demand for two additional openers as replacements for Shubman Gill is unjustified.

Gill has been ruled out of the five-Test series against England due to shin splints. There have been reports that Team India has requested that Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal be flown as replacements, which has apparently been turned down by the BCCI.

Selectors has turned down the request for the replacement (Shaw & Padikkal) of Shubman Gill as of now, there is Easwaran can be drafted in and with Mayank - Rohit opening and if needed KL Rahul can open as well. (Source - Sports Tak)

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 6, 2021

During a discussion on India News, Saba Karim termed Team India's supposed demand an unjust one. He reasoned:

"I will never feel it is justified because if you send an additional replacement the players already in the team will feel extremely insecure. There is no need to create such insecurity."

The former selector added that Team India needs to show faith in the players already chosen by the selection committee. Karim said:

"I feel you have to show some faith in the job done by the selectors. I still cannot believe that such a demand would have come from the team management. But if it has come, I feel it is not justifiable."

Saba Karim also pointed out that the final call on the replacement players to be sent is taken by the selectors. He elaborated:

"If the team needs a replacement, there is a discussion with the selectors, especially with the chairperson. But which player goes is decided by the selection committee."

Apart from Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul are the other specialist openers in the Indian squad in England. While Abhimanyu Easwaran can also be included in the squad from the reserves if required, Hanuma Vihari has also batted at the top of the order for Team India in the past.

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Saba Karim on why Team India might have asked for additional openers

Team India will play a lengthy five-match series in England

Saba Karim acknowledged that he might not be in the best position to give reasons for the demand raised by Team India. He said:

"But the question here is why they need a replacement when they have so many openers in the reserve. It is difficult to say from here what could be the reason behind the team management asking for a replacement."

The former wicketkeeper-batsman reckons Team India might just want to be on the safer side after the injury issues they faced in Australia. Karim explained:

"It is possible that they might be feeling that the situation that was created in Australia, a similar thing could happen here as well. So they want an opener to be in the team as Shubman Gill has come back and it is a long series, there are going to five Test matches played and if you need someone in between, the player will not be able to play because of quarantine."

Team India had to field an extremely inexperienced bowling attack in the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after their regular bowlers were ruled out due to injuries. However, the youngsters did rise to the occasion to script a memorable series-clinching win in Brisbane.

fearless India, driven by its courageous youngsters, pulled of an exhilarating three-wicket win over Australia in the fourth Test to claim the series 2-1 and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at The Gabba on Tuesday. #BorderGavaskarTrophy #IndiavsAustralia pic.twitter.com/J8jBuG8uCJ

— SAROJKANTA MOHANTY (@iam_skmohanty) January 19, 2021