“I would have played Deepak Hooda” – RP Singh criticizes team India for playing Shreyas Iyer in 3rd England T20I
Former India pacer RP Singh has criticized the Indian team management for playing Shreyas Iyer ahead of Deepak Hooda in the third T20I against England. Men in Blue sealed the three-game T20I series by winning the 2nd game at Edgbaston. That meant the Indian team had the luxury to experiment with their playing XI in the final T20 game on Sunday.
India made four changes to their playing XI on Sunday but the inclusion of Shreyas Iyer in the playing XI has agitated the former left-arm pacer RP Singh. Deepak Hooda has been an explosive form with the bat lately. The right-handed batter scored runs in two T20s against Ireland, including a century. He then carried his form to the England series by scoring brisk 33 runs off 17 deliveries in the first T20I.
However, Hooda had to make a place for returning Virat Kohli in the 2nd game. With the series already sealed, the Indian team management could have brought back Deepak Hooda in the playing XI but they picked Shreyas Iyer instead. His selection ahead of Deepak Hooda flustered RP Singh who criticized the Indian team management for the unfair call.
“You must play someone who is in the form” – RP Singh on Shreyas Iyer’s selection ahead of Deepak Hooda
“You must play someone who is in form, Deepak Hooda was in form as he has scored so many runs. But by playing Iyer, you are trying to get him back in his form which is beyond my understanding. If I was the captain, I would have played Deepak Hooda,” said RP Singh to Cricbuzz’s Youtube channel.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer stitched a fantastic partnership of 119 runs for the 4th alongside Suryakumar Yadav after losing the top order early. However, the right-handed batter only contributed 28 runs off 23 deliveries to that partnership before falling to short delivery once again.
Despite Suryakumar Yadav’s explosive century, India lost the game by 17 runs. Men in Blue won the T20I series 2-1 and they will now look to repeat the feat in the ODI series, starting from Tuesday.
