"Selections Smacked Of Panic...": Australia Great Tears Into Team After Crumbling Loss Against India

Former Australia skipper Ian Chappell was not happy with Australia's team selection for the second Test encounter against India and he believes that the decisions taken by the team management seemed like panic choices. Matthew Kuhnemann was included for the second Test but the spinner was unable to replicate the success of his Indian counterparts as he ended the match with figures of 2-110 from 28.3 overs. Even the inclusion of Travis Head did not change Australia's fortunes as the visitors lost wickets in heap in their second innings to slump to a six-wicket defeat.

"I don't think there was any justification for some of the things they've done - their selections smacked of panic," Chappell told Wide World of Sports.

"If you want to look at panic, the dropping of Head [and] playing Renshaw saying he's a good player of spin bowling, and you bat him in the middle order.”

"You come into the second Test with one quick only, you fly Kuhnemann over from Australia and you play him ahead of Agar, who bowls the same sort of stuff, and was in the original squad.

"Now, are you going to tell me they're not panic selections? This is the problem … they overthink things."

"I don't think they know what their best bowling lineup is. I also don't think they know what their best batting lineup is in India, but … the best batsmen are in India now," Chappell said.

Ashton Agar was part of the Australia squad for the first two Test matches but the senior spinner was snubbed by the team management. Chappell expressed his surprise at that decision and added that he was left unimpressed with the decision to play Kuhnemann instead of Agar.

"Agar must be bowling very badly if they pick him in the original squad, and they put this guy in ahead of him. What the hell's Agar doing?" he asked.

"There wasn't a lot to be impressed by Kuhnemann.”

'I'm very glad it's their selection problem and not mine," he concluded.