Former Indian selector Kris Srikkanth slammed Tilak Varma’s performance after India suffered a 125-run loss against England in the third T20I at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Tuesday. Chasing 202 runs for the win, Varma struggled to find any kind of impetus in his innings when India was under the cosh.

The Indian vice-captain was eventually dismissed after scoring three runs off 11 deliveries. In the second T20I, Varma had added the finishing touches with a cameo of 11-ball 24. The left-hander is certainly struggling against the spinners and his mundane strike rate has come under scrutiny.

Srikkanth said he would instead play Sanju Samson ahead of Tilak Varma.

Kris Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “He’s already the vice captain and it looks like he’ll soon become the captain also. Tilak Varma might have himself said he doesn’t want to go out, seeing the pace and bounce. Tilak Varma is clueless. I rather play Sanju Samson himself instead of Tilak Varma.”

“You make Tilak Varma your main batter and vice-captain. Yet, why are you shielding him against fast bowling? They are sending Axar Patel ahead of him. It’s clear they are trying to shield Tilak Varma because they know he’s vulnerable against short-pitched bowling. I’ve been consistently saying he should be dropped. But they don’t drop him.”

The 1983 World Cup-winning player also questioned the team’s think tank for promoting Harshit Rana ahead of Shivam Dube.

“They also sent Harshit Rana ahead of Shivam Dube. What antics are the thinktank doing? Shivam Dube ofcourse we know is done once there is pace and bounce. It was almost like once he saw the pitch, he was happy to get out and escape. Dube can only do anything if a spinner bowls slowly in the slot on a flat track. Archer is laughing when bowling to him,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).

The fourth T20I between England and India will be played at Bristol, County Ground on Thursday.