India vs Pakistan: 'What about bowling depth?' — Sanjay Manjrekar blasts Team India for Mohammed Shami's omission

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar and batting great Matthew Hayden have blasted Team India management for opting to put Mohammed Shami on the bench for the match against Pakistan in Asia Cup 2023 on Saturday.

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India won the toss and opted to bat in the high-octane clash and only picked three pure bowlers in their playing XI in order to avoid a long tail. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav are the only three pure bowlers alongside all-rounders Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur in the playing XI.

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Shami was the pacer India decided to sacrifice to accommodate Thakur. Also, Siraj was picked over Shami.

Manjrekar blasted Team India’s decision and said that it was a result of their insecurity over their batting.

“I am against this thought. People talk about batting depth but what about bowling depth? Isn’t Mohammed Shami more a threat to Pakistan batters than Shardul Thakur? I wouldn’t worry about batting depth. Leaving someone out like a Shami, especially on a surface where you see the ball seam around, India should have gone with three quality seamers. It just shows signs of insecurity and not trusting your batter in Jadeja at No.7,” he said on Star Sports.

Hayden who was on the Star Sports show alongside Manjrekar agreed with the Indian cricketer.

“I 100% agree. Shami should have been there. The only thing that is missing is Shami. There has got to be a reason which we are missing about his non-selection,” Hayden said.

India playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan(w), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Pakistan playing XI: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf