Veteran politician Shashi Tharoor has blasted the team India management over the selection of the Indian team after their defeat in the 2nd ODI on Thursday.
The 2nd ODI between India and Australia at the Adelaide Oval saw Australia chase down India's competitive total of 264 with 2 wickets to spare, securing the series with an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Rohit Sharma was a standout performer for India, playing a patient and skillful innings of 73 runs off 97 balls. He anchored the innings well, especially after early wickets fell, displaying his experience and composure against Australia's disciplined bowling attack. Shreyas Iyer complemented Rohit excellently, scoring 61 runs off 77 balls with seven fours, helping India recover from 17/2 and build
a solid partnership of over 100 runs for the third wicket. Axar Patel also contributed a useful 44 runs, supporting the team's effort to set a challenging target.
While India's batting featured some resilience, Virat Kohli had a disappointing outing, dismissed for a duck by Xavier Bartlett. Kohli's dismissal early in the innings put India under pressure, a rare low moment contrasting with his otherwise illustrious form.
On the bowling front, Harshit Rana showed promise by taking two crucial wickets but was somewhat expensive with 59 runs conceded from eight overs. Critics had questioned his selection prior to the match, and despite his wicket-taking, his economy rate raised concerns, indicating he needs to control runs better to be more effective at this level. Harshit, in a crucial time, got battered by Cooper Connolly, which changed the complexion of the match.
Amid this, Shashi Tharoor took to social media and vented his frustration for not playing Kuldeep Yadav, who has been kept on the sidelines despite a magnificent outing in the Asia Cup and then the West Indies Test series.
"So Xavier Bartlett took just four balls to show the Indian selectors the idiocy of their decision to leave out the most potent match-winner in their squad, Kuldeep Yadav, in favour of a journeyman pacer like Rana. It was wrong to omit Kuldeep in England & it is absurd not to pick him in Adelaide. Awful," Tharoor wrote on X.
So Xavier Bartlett took just four balls to show the Indian selectors the idiocy of their decision to leave out the most potent match-winner in their squad, @imkuldeep18, in favour of a journeyman pacer like Rana. It was wrong to omit Kuldeep in England & it is absurd not to pick…
- Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 23, 2025
Although Tharoor pinned the blame on the selectors, even a kid knows that no selectors have any role in the playing eleven selection, as its solely on the captain and the coaching staff. Gambhir, the India head coach, has been vocal in support for Rana recently, but it was yet another underwhelming outing for the Delhi pacer.
