Mohammed Shami sitting at home baffles me: Ravi Shastri questions India's Asia Cup squad selection after loss vs SL

Team India’s Asia Cup campaign went from bad to worse as after suffering the defeat against Pakistan, the Men in Blue lost to Sri Lanka in the Super Four stage on Tuesday in Dubai and they are at the brink of getting eliminated from the tournament.

Talking about the poor show by Rohit Sharma-led side in the Asia Cup 2022, former India coach Ravi Shastri has come down hard on the current Indian management for ignoring experienced pacer Mohammed Shami completely in the T20I setup.

It is worth noting that Shami hasn’t played a single T20I after India’s horrific ICC T20 World Cup 2021 campaign in the UAE, where they failed to make it to even knockout stage.

What’s more intriguing is that Shami was ignored for the Asia Cup 2022 despite having a memorable IPL 2022 campaign with debutants Gujarat Titans. The fast bowler finished the season with 20 wickets in 16 games at 24.40 as the Titans lifted the trophy in their maiden season.

“I am completely amazed to see how Mohammed Shami has been sidelined by the current Indian team management and the selectors. The Indian bowling hasn’t looked that effective in this year’s Asia Cup and a veteran like Shami should have certainly made it to the squad,” Ravi Shastri said on Star Sports.

“I was quite surprised that you came here with just 4 fast bowlers. You needed that extra one. Someone like Mohammed Shami sitting at home baffles me. After the IPL he had, for him not to be able to make the cut is, obviously, I am seeing something different,” he added.

After Shastri expressed his disappointment with the selection, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram asked: “Does the coach have input in selecting the team?” To this, Shastri replied: “He does, but he is not part of the selection. He can only contribute by saying ‘this is the combination we want’, then it is up to the captain in the meeting to take that forward.”

“There should have been one extra fast bowler. One spinner less in the 15-16. You don’t want to be caught in a situation where one guy has a fever and then you have no one else to play with. You have to play another spinner which can be embarrassing in the end,” he stated further.

Notably, India went perilously close to elimination after a six-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. The result left the Men in Blue at the mercy of the other teams to have a chance of making it to the final.