New Delhi: Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri had an argument with the selectors of team India. The issue was about the replacement of the injured opener, Shubhman Gill. Team management has asked for Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal who are currently part of India’s T20 and ODI squad.
From what is being reported, it looks like all is not well between the Indian team's management and the selection committee. Chief selector Chetan Sharma also pointed fingers towards the BCCI's operations.
As per sources, the team manager has written an email to the selectors regarding Shaw and Padikkal, but haven’t received any reply yet from the selectors. If sources are to be believed the selectors are ‘not happy’ with this demand.
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Virat and Shastri say that they need two replacements as the series in England is going to be a long one. “They (BCCI) sent just 24 cricketers to England, of which four are standbys. Abhimanyu Easwaran has done well in First-Class cricket but is it fair to make him debut against James Anderson, Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad. KL Rahul is not being considered as an opener but in the middle-order. So, if Gill’s injury demands a replacement, and if there’s time to fly in one, what’s the harm?" asked a source as quoted by TOI.
Rahul Dravid too is in a state of dilemma after this situation has come up as he is currently coaching India's ODI team which included Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal.
After Shubman Gill's stress fracture on the left shin, there have been many reports emerging about the need for a third opening batsman. A report in TOI has suggested that the team management (read Kohli and Shastri) want Prithvi Shaw as the third option. Many including Kapil Dev think that bringing Shaw as an opener in the team when the team already has Rahul and Agarwal calls for an "unnecessary controversy".