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Cricket Players'Leaving him out looks like faux pas': Aakash Chopra on selectors' 'grave mistake' in dropping India's Test specialist
Aakash's tweet came shortly after opener KL Rahul was ruled out of the entire series with a muscle strain.
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra on Tuesday lashed out at India's selection committee for a "grave mistake" they committed in dropping Test specialist Hanuma Vihari for the two-match Test series against New Zealand which begins from November 25. Aakash's tweet came shortly after opener KL Rahul was ruled out of the entire series with a muscle strain.
Hanuma was dropped from the 16-member squad (will be 17 in next Test) which will take on New Zealand as the second cycle of the World Test Championship begins in Kanpur. Although the Chetan Sharma-led selection committee are yet to make an official explanation behind the squad announcement, the Andhra batter was later added to the Priyank Panchal-led India A side, which begun their first four-day game at Bloemfontein in South Africa on Tuesday.
Taking to Twitter, Aakash said, "Leaving out Hanuma Vihari for the #IndvNZ Tests looks like a faux pas now. It was a grave mistake to begin with…"
ALSO READ: Hanuma Vihari posts cryptic tweet after New Zealand Test series snub, leaves fans guessing
An hour earlier, Rahul was ruled out of the Test series with a muscle strain on his left thigh and hence the bard named Suryakumar Yadav as his replacement.
This implies that Shubman Gill, who was expected to take a middle-order position in the series, will now open for India as usual and one between Shreyas Iyer and Yadav will make their Test debut on Thursday and fill the empty middle-order spot.
Aakash hence felt that Vihari's inclusion in the squad would have avoided a new addition and India would have straightaway relied on the Test specialist, who has managed to feature in only one home Tests in his 12-match career.
The veteran cricketer isn't alone who slammed the selectors for this decision. Talking to Cricbuzz on the squad announcement, former cricketer Ajay Jadeja too was disappointed with Vihari getting dropped.
“Vihari, poor guy. He did well. He has been with Indian cricket for a while, done well. What has he done wrong? Why should he go to India A tour, why can't he play a Test match at home? Or don't send him on A tour also. Somebody who has been with the team, now goes to India A tour and a new guy comes in. That's messing with people's minds,” explained Jadeja.
