"Failed to identify a role for Rishabh Pant" - Danish Kaneria on Indian selection committee's failures

Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria alleged that Team India's selection committee, headed by Chetan Sharma, failed to use talents such as Rishabh Pant during their term.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, he noted how the panel continued to back KL Rahul in major tournaments while not giving other openers a lengthy run. He suggested that Pant would have flourished as an opener if the selection committee had shown enough trust in him.

Kaneria also pointed out how Shubman Gill didn't get enough chances to prove his worth. He explained:

"The selection committee persisted with KL Rahul, despite there being a lot more options. The likes of Shubman Gill weren't provided with enough chances.

"They failed to identify a role for Rishabh Pant. They couldn't see that they had someone like Pant who could have done really well as an opener."

Amid all the criticism pertaining to the Men in Blue's performances in big events, the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) made a bold move by sacking the entire men's senior selection committee on Friday, November 18.

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"Apart from the selection committee, the Indian team management also needs to be blamed" - Danish Kaneria on Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid

Kanera went on to say that skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid also made some questionable decisions during the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.

The 41-year-old highlighted how the Indian think tank erred tactically by benching Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal throughout the showpiece event. He opined that going ahead with the same set of players for all their games was the wrong call on the part of the team management. He added:

"Apart from the selection committee, the Indian team management also needs to be blamed. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid had made it clear that both Yuzvendra Chahal and Harshal Patel would sit out unless there was an injury.

"This isn't the ideal approach. You have to make changes depending on the situation. You will end up on the losing side if you select the playing XI based on personal likes and dislikes."

Notably, the team failed to bring home an ICC trophy on yet another occasion. Rohit and Co. were eliminated in the semi-finals, suffering an embarrassing 10-wicket loss to eventual winners England.

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