Edited By: Aditya Maheshwari
Last Updated: February 26, 2023, 16:07 IST
Legendary cricketer Ian Chappell slammed Australia’s selection calls in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India. Chappell said that Australia’s struggle isn’t much surprising for him as they made several selection blunders. The visitors have already lost the first two Test matches which has put their contention for World Test Championship final in a bit of jeopardy.
India have played some dominant cricket so far in the home conditions as the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindran Jadeja have pinned Australia down in Nagpur and Delhi to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
ALSO READ| ‘I see 4-0’: Sourav Ganguly Says ‘It’ll be Hard for Australia to Beat India’
“The mess they have got themselves in isn’t surprising, although some of the selections have been head-scratching, to say the least,” Chappell was quoted as saying by ABC.
Now 2-0 behind, Australia will face India in the third Test at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, starting from March 1.
Chappell lashed out at the team management for excluding in-form Travis Head from the playing XI for the first Test match in Nagpur.
“You just don’t drop some guy who has been one of your top scorers in Australia. You find out if he can play in India.”
Following his shocking exclusion in Nagpur, Head was recalled for the second Test in New Delhi, making 12 and 43.
He was also left baffled by the decision to make Matthew Kuhnemann play in the second Test in New Delhi. Kuhnemann, who was flown following the return of Mitchell Swepson due to the birth of his child, was given a Test debut ahead of Ashton Agar and returned with figures of 2/72 and 0/38.
“He’s not bowling to the best batsmen in Australia. So, if his Shield record is quite good, you’ve got to remember he is not bowling to the best players. So, how do you decide that Kuhnemann is ready for India because he is bowling really well (in Sheffield Shield)?
“Now, a good selector — and I’m not sure we have got any of those at the moment — can see some things that tell him, ‘I think this guy is ready’ and you might take a punt. But in general, it’s not a good system for either the players or the selectors to decide who is ready for Test cricket.”
Get the latest Cricket News here