“Absolutely not, it makes no sense” - Ravi Shastri slams Gautam Gambhir & Co. for poor selection calls in South Africa Test series

Former Team India head coach and commentator Ravi Shastri has slammed the Indian team management, including the head coach Gautam Gambhir, for playing musical chairs with the Indian batting order in the ongoing two-match Test series against South Africa.

Speaking exclusively on Star Sports, Shastri asserted that it doesn’t make any sense in terms of the team selection in the Kolkata and Guwahati Tests. While India went ahead with four spinners in the Eden Gardens Test, one spinner bowled only a single over, raising a lot of eyebrows.

Moreover, Washington Sundar was elevated to the No.3 batting position in the playing XI in the Kolkata Test, replacing Sai Sudharsan. Though Sundar did a decent job in both innings, he was later demoted to the No.8 position in the Guwahati Test.

“Absolutely not. It makes no sense. I can’t figure out the reasoning. When they review this series, some of these selections will leave them puzzled. In Kolkata you picked four spinners and one of them bowled only a single over, when you could’ve easily picked a specialist batter. And here, after making Washington bat at three in the last Test, you could’ve slotted him at four today since you already had your number three. He’s not a number eight. He’s much better than that,” Ravi Shastri told Star Sports.

In Shubman Gill's absence, Sai Sudharsan was picked in the XI for the Guwahati Test. He went on to take up the No.3 batting slot. However, Dhruv Jurel occupied the No.4 role in the second Test while Sundar was demoted to the No.8 slot. Nevertheless, Sundar scored 48 runs in 92 balls in response to South Africa's 489-run total.

At Stumps on Day 3, South Africa took a 314-run lead in the second innings without losing a wicket.

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