Former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth has batted for the inclusion of Rajat Patidar in India's T20I fold for the future series in place of vice-captain Tilak Varma.
Coming off a stellar IPL season where he led the Royal Challengers Bengaluru side to their second successive IPL title, calls for Patidar's inclusion into the side have become stronger across fans and experts. The batter scored 501 runs in 15 matches, averaging 41.75 and striking at 192.69, excelling in a middle-order enforcer role.
Srikkanth
has called for Patidar's inclusion in place of Tilak, who was recently appointed vice-captain of the Indian team in a major shake-up which saw Shreyas Iyer being made the new captain. India have played ten T20Is since, with Tilak scoring 255 runs at a strike rate of 143.25 with three half-centuries. In the final T20I in Zimbabwe, Tilak scored 11 off nine balls, which followed a stellar 29-ball 60. Srikkanth has further questioned Tilak for a lack of consistency with the bat.
"Once again, Tilak ate nine balls. He can't play fast for too long. Where is the consistency? Tell me? What did he do in England? There will be one knock here and there. He is nothing compared to Rajat Patidar. If you want a real solid T20 knock, go to Patidar, give him a chance. Everyone is getting chances like Yash Thakur; give him a chance too," said Srikkanth, speaking on his YouTube Channel.
In the second T20I against Zimbabwe, Tilak became the seventh-highest run-scorer for India in T20Is, surpassing the likes of MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina. The southpaw has scored 1645 runs in 56 innings, averaging 44.45 and striking at 145.18. He has nine half-centuries and two centuries to his name.
India's recent form in the format has raised eyebrows, after being whitewashed by Ireland in Belfast, losing the two-match | series 2-0, before being swept 4-0 by a spirited England side in a five-match series. They did, however, manage to whitewash Zimbabwe 3-0 in the recently concluded series.
