Former Indian captain and ex-selection committee chairman Krishnamachari Srikkanth was perplexed when team India batter Deepak Hooda was not picked to India’s XI for the first T20I against West Indies on July 29 (Friday).
The West Indies won the toss and chose to bat first against the visiting squad. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer, who batted at number three in the ODI series against the West Indies, has been nominated to the Indian XI. Iyer, on the other hand, couldn’t do anything since he was scalped before even establishing his account.
“Where is Hooda? He did well in T20Is. He did well in ODIs as well. He is the guy who should be there. In T20 cricket you need to understand, that you need all-rounders. Batting all-rounders, bowling all-rounders, so more the all-rounders better for you.”, Srikkanth said.
Hooda has been in fantastic form recently, as he made an important contribution during his previous T20I against England, which the Men in Blue won and therefore claimed the series. In a T20I against Ireland last month, he also scored his first international century. Previously, Hooda was in terrific form during the just-finished Indian Premier League (IPL).
In T20I cricket, the right-handed hitter has scored 205 runs at an average of 68.33 and a strike rate of 172.26, which includes a century. Meanwhile, Iyer has 931 runs in 38 T20I innings for the Men in Blue, with a strike rate of 138.74 and six fifties.
