Former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth has raised strong questions over Yash Thakur’s selection in the third and final T20I between the India National Cricket Team and the Afghanistan National Cricket Team at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on September 17.
At the toss, the captain Shreyas Iyer had confirmed that Thakur replaced Arshdeep Singh after sitting out the first two games against Afghanistan, with India already leading the series 2-0. Amid this, India’s Asian Games preparations hit by kit, hotel issues, BCCI steps in.
Yash Thakur takes 1/17, but Kris Srikkanth questions his India selection
The 27-year-old Yash Thakur finished with the impressive figures of 1/17 in two overs as India completed a huge 127-run win and a 3-0 series sweep over Afghanistan in Delhi. However, Kris Srikkanth felt Thakur’s selection raised questions about the standards needed to play for India.
The former Indian chief selector felt Thakur had not done enough to become a regular T20I option. Actually, the bowler had played only one IPL 2026 match before making his India debut on the Zimbabwe tour. However, the pacer has already played 77 T20s and scalped 115 wickets so far.
In the IPL, Yash has taken 27 wickets in 22 matches at an average above 30 and an economy rate of 10.59 so far. He has now 5 wickets in 3 T20Is for India so far to his name at an average of 18.40 and an economy rate of 9.20. Amid this, Ramesh Powar likely to be appointed head of new BCCI junior selection panel.
It’s an injustice that Yash Thakur is playing for India: Kris Srikkanth
Srikkanth questioned Yash Thakur’s selection for India, saying players should earn their place through strong domestic and IPL performances. He felt Thakur didn’t deserve the India cap and called his selection unfair to experienced players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Kris Srikkanth said in a video posted on his YouTube channel, “How can some random guy like him wear the Indian cap? If Yash Thakur is getting the Indian cap, it sends a signal that you are giving the Indian cap very easily to anybody and everybody. That is not a good sign. To play for India, you need some credibility, talent, and strong domestic performance.”
The 1983 World Cup winner added, “It’s an injustice that Yash Thakur is playing for India. This is not, and it’s not fair or right. It’s not fair on people like Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Guys like Yash Thakur and Ravi Bishnoi are not even regulars in their IPL teams.”
Srikkanth unleashes brutal attack on Afghanistan after India whitewash
Srikkanth also criticized Afghanistan’s performance in the recent T20I series. India won the first two matches by seven wickets before crushing them by 127 runs in Delhi. Afghanistan is yet to record a T20I win over India, with 11 defeats and one no-result in 12 matches.
He signed off by saying, “After a point, it looked like the Afghanistan players were looking at the time and were ready to leave by flight at night. They got smashed so badly that they would have been happy to leave India. This Afghanistan side is terrible.”
Notably, India’s T20I squad is now all set to be seen in action in the Asian Games 2026 in Japan, while the ODI side will face the West Indies in the home series later this month.
Source: cricketaddictor.com
