Irfan Pathan: Senior players are unhappy with the selection of the Indian team announced in the wake of the T20 World Cup. Some players have already questioned the BCCI selectors on social media. Former Indian player Irfan Pathan has now joined that list. He was not very keen on the team composition for the T20 World Cup. He indirectly commented that there is no balance in the team announcement. Irfan Pathan especially expressed his displeasure with giving the vice captaincy to Hardik Pandya. Irfan commented that it is understood that the BCCI selectors have set an example for some people.
“Due to injury in the last World Cup, Hardik Pandya headed home in the middle. He was away from cricket for some time. Exceptionally, he became the captain of the Mumbai team. However, his performance was not great. He is unable to excel in both bowling and batting. How can such a player be given a chance? Irfan Pathan asked how he will be appointed as vice captain. “What is the excuse to give vice-captaincy to a player like Jaspreet Bumrah and give it to Hardik Pandya,” Irfan opined. Not only Irfan but also Hardik Pandya has been criticized on social media for giving vice captaincy. “Mumbai team is playing badly under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya. It is at the bottom of the points table. In that case, how will they give him the vice-captaincy” netizens are uniting the BCCI selection committee.
Actually Hardik Pandya was the captain of Team India T20 team. BCCI has appointed Rohit Sharma as the captain of Team India in the wake of the T20 World Cup. There are reports that Rohit Sharma will step down from the captaincy after this tournament. Then there are reports that BCCI is thinking of appointing Hardik Pandya as the captain and Suriya Kumar Yadav as the vice-captain. Irfan Pathan's comment that “BCCI is making such an effort” to confirm these, strengthens the above arguments. On the other hand, Irfan expressed anger that Rinku Singh was not given a chance in the T20 World Cup team. “The selection of the team is in the hands of the selectors. Cricket is not tennis. Players should get equal priority in cricket. Only then will the game be balanced. But, unfortunately it is missing now.. In the last T20 World Cup BCCI has given extreme priority to the players who were not prioritized. Irfan commented that I have seen it up close.
