'There should have been one extra fast bowler' - Ravi Shastri questions India's team selection after defeat against Sri Lanka

Ravi Shastri (Image Source: Twitter)

India collapsed against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2022 on Tuesday (September 6) as the latter punched the former by six wickets. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team is all set to face the backlash from fans who are extremely disappointed with the performance. Ravi Shastri, the former India coach, is one of those who were not happy with Team India's squad selection.

With the back-end team staff yet to figure out what went wrong for Team India, many former cricketers have started questioning India’s team selection. Shastri, the former cricketer, has joined the list.

As soon as India announced the Asia Cup squad, fans predicted that India might not make it through to the finals in the absence of Mohammed Shami. Looks like the fans got it right in the end and India’s chances of qualifying looks grim.

The former Indian coach was not happy with the exclusion of Mohammed Shami and added that he could have won matches for India had he been selected. The 60-year-old further opined that the team should have selected a pacer ahead of a spinner in the squad.

“When you need to win, you got to prepare better. I think the selection could have been better, especially for the fast bowlers. You know the conditions here. There's not much in it for the spinner. I was quite surprised that you came here with just four fast bowlers (including Hardik),” Shastri said.

One can clearly understand the frustration behind the former coach’s words. “You needed that extra one… someone like Mohammed Shami sitting at home and cooling his heels baffles me. After the IPL he had, for him not to be able to make the cut is... Obviously, I'm seeing something different," he said in a post-match discussion with Star Sports.

There should have been one extra fast bowler: Ravi Shastri

The former coach was clear in his opinion. He stressed the fact the team must have had one extra pacer for the Asia Cup. Albeit the spinners can come in handy on slow pitches, the ferociousness of a pacer is unmatchable.

"When I say planning... There should have been one extra fast bowler. One spinner less in the 15-16. You don't wanna be caught situation where one guy has a fever and then you have no one else to play. You have to play another spinner which can be embarrassing in the end," he concluded.

India has to depend on Afghanistan and Sri Lanka to make it through to the finals. Even if everything goes per plan, the Men in Blue will need to keep an eye on the net run rate.