Delhi batter Ayush Badoni’s selection for India’s ongoing ODI series against New Zealand has raised eyebrows, with experts and fans questioning the logic behind the selectors’ decision.
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Robin Uthappa is the latest to join the debate, saying that Badoni’s selection “doesn’t make any sense.” Badoni received his maiden India call-up as a replacement for all-rounder Washington Sundar, who was ruled out for the last two matches due to injury.
During a discussion with former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan on his YouTube channel, Uthappa observed that while Badoni has potential, he isn’t sure if the player is ready to play for India.
“I didn’t understand it at all. I absolutely couldn’t make sense of it. It was completely out of left field. I even went and checked his scores in the recent past-in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and this one as well. I think he is a high-potential player, but I don’t know if he is India-ready yet,” said Uthappa.
Irfan echoed the sentiments of his former teammate, having played together during the historic 2007 T20 World Cup-winning campaign, and suggested that he was as shocked as everyone else.
“I was a bit surprised, honestly. Guys like Ayush Badoni have not done that well, right? I mean, he hasn’t exactly set domestic cricket on fire. He had three decent scores against South Africa A and Australia A, and then in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he picked up four wickets in three games. So they probably thought that he could bowl a bit and bat down the order. But yes, it really was a surprise,” explained Irfan.
Meanwhile, Sundar will also miss the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand, raising doubts over his participation in the T20 World Cup next month. The BCCI on Friday added spinner Ravi Bishnoi to the squad as Sundar’s replacement, while Shreyas Iyer, the ODI vice-captain, also replaced the injured Tilak Varma for the first three T20Is.