As the Indian cricket team gears up for a high-profile ICC Champions Trophy, some questions have been raised over the team's squad composition. Despite the fact that spinners haven't traditionally done well in Dubai, India have gone ahead with as many as 5 spin bowlers for the tournament, with Varun Chakravarthy being a late addition. Former India wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik didn't mince his words as he questioned skipper Rohit Sharma, and chief selector Ajit Agarkar over team selection.
Karthik feels India should've taken a maximum of 4 spinners to Dubai for the Champions Trophy. Surprisingly, the team decided to remove an opener in the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal to make space for Chakravarthy. The veteran cricketer feels such a decision shows a bit of a lack of clarity in plans.
"Five spinners, I personally feel, is a bit too much. They could have done with 4, I felt. And that's where I do think it shows a little bit of, not confusion, which is probably a strong word, but not being very sure of what exactly to do because they announced a squad and then they added another spinner for an opener," Karthik told Cricbuzz.
Questions were also raised over Harshit Rana's selection to the team after Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out.
"Look, if you had to go with experience, then yes, Siraj could have been the ideal choice, but I thought Harshit bowled very well against England. What I feel is the Indian camp is very impressed with Harshit Rana. I think Harshit Rana was the debate, but I feel Team India backs him right now more than Siraj," Karthik said.
In the pace bowling unit, India have Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami and Rana. Hardik Pandya is likely to act as 4th pace-bowling option because of his all-round abilities. However, it isn't yet known if all 5 spinners will get a chance to play at some point.