"Some of them have been fast-tracked" - Aakash Chopra on the 6 uncapped players in India's squad for Sri Lanka series

Aakash Chopra feels some of the six uncapped players chosen in the Indian team for the tour of Sri Lanka have been fast-tracked into the national setup.

The Indian team will play six limited-overs matches - three ODIs and as many T20Is - on their tour of Sri Lanka in July. The selected squad has six uncapped players - Nitish Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Krishnappa Gowtham, Chetan Sakariya, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devdutt Padikkal.

Here is India’s squad for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka in July 💥🇮🇳🔸 Shikhar Dhawan named captain; Bhuvneshwar Kumar vice-captain. 🔸 Six uncapped players in the squad Who’s excited?! 🤩#India #TeamIndia #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/fzisScaJkJ

— Sportskeeda India (@Sportskeeda) June 10, 2021

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra observed that while some of these players have been knocking on the door for a while, others have earned a call-up a little too early.

"Six uncapped Indians have been picked. We welcome the six players who have been given a chance to come into the Indian team. Some of them have been fast-tracked while a few of them have been waiting for some time."

The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that while Nitish Rana is in the Indian team's scheme of things for the first time, Varun Chakravarthy is back in the squad after being sidelined previously due to injuries.

"Nitish Rana has got a chance for the first time. Varun Chakravarthy was picked a few times but was out due to injuries. He might get a chance to play now, he is still uncapped," added Aakash Chopra.

Varun Chakravarthy was named as part of the Indian T20I team for the tour of Australia and the home series against England. But he missed both the series, either due to injury or because of failed fitness tests.

---

"Krishnappa Gowtham has been fast-tracked into the Indian team" - Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra highlighted Krishnappa Gowtham did not play a single match for CSK in IPL 2021

Aakash Chopra pointed out that Krishnappa Gowtham has been selected despite not getting a single game for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2021.

"Krishnappa Gowtham did not play a single match for CSK but has been fast-tracked into the Indian team. When 2021 started, it seemed it will be a nightmarish year for Chetan Sakariya. First, he lost his brother and then his father but played a good IPL in between and now his name has come in the Indian team."

While stating that Devdutt Padikkal's selection was expected and there is no denying Ruturaj Gaikwad's talent, Aakash Chopra opined that Chetan Sakariya has been selected a little prematurely.

"Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devdutt Padikkal, we all expected Devdutt Padikkal's name to be there. We know about Ruturaj Gaikwad's talent. There is a slight surprise with Chetan Sakariya's name although he is very promising. But it seems he has been fast-tracked a little too early."

Aakash Chopra signed off by saying that Jaydev Unadkat could have been part of the team but has been totally discarded.

The only way Jaydev Unadkat should have missed the Sri Lanka bus was if he was in England, at least as part of the reserves. Got to feel for him. Sixty-seven wickets in a Ranji season, much of the wickets on flat decks in Rajkot, is no joke.

— Shashank Kishore (@captainshanky) June 10, 2021