Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth questioned Matthew Forde’s bowling performance in the first T20I against India, which the West Indies lost by eight wickets at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Tuesday.
Forde was taken to the cleaners by Indian batters in the opening game of the series, conceding 39 runs in the two overs he bowled. The seamer was hit for 15 runs in the opening over of the innings by Abhishek Sharma whereas he was smashed for 24 runs in the 14th over by Shreyas Iyer.
Kris Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “How are you calling Forde an all-rounder? At 66, I’ll smash his bowling. That’s how poorly he’s bowling. Shamar Joseph has become so ordinary with the ball and on the field. Campbell, Jangoo and Seales should be playing in T20Is. Instead, some random guys are playing.”
Srikkanth also questioned West Indies’ team selection and feels players like Amir Jangoo and Jayden Seales should be in the T20I side.
“They are an extremely ordinary side. I can’t understand their team selection at all. Guys like Jangoo and Seales should be in the T20I side. They were in a position to score 190 to 195, and they still collapsed with a so-called long lineup. Everyone just slogged, and it was senseless batting.”
The 1983 World Cup-winning player said Shimron Hetmyer’s run out was the turning point in the game. Hetymer was run out after scoring five runs off two balls.
“They have the ability to score 190 to 200. But the actual turning point was Hetmyer’s run-out. They never looked like they were building partnerships after Hetmyer got out. Rovman Powell is just slogging blindly. In fact, everyone on their team slogs and gets caught on the boundary. Only a team that has no clue about batting keeps slogging, and the West Indies look like such a team. They look like they don’t know batting at all,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
The second T20I between India and the West Indies will be played at Ranchi on Friday.
