Either Ambati Rayudu or Shreyas Iyer should have been in India’s 2019 World Cup squad: Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri’s tenure as Team India head coach ended last month following the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2021. While the former Indian all-rounder enjoyed a sensational run in the mentor’s role, an ICC trophy would have been the cherry on the cake. India played three ICC events under coach Shastri but couldn’t get the glory once.

While India qualified for the knock-out stage in the 2019 World Cup and 2019-21 World Test Championship, they couldn’t clear the group stage in the 2021 T20 World Cup. As far as the 2019 event is concerned, several questions were raised over the team selection. Ambati Rayudu wasn’t selected after skipper Virat Kohli openly acknowledged that he would be the no.4 batter in the build-up to the ICC event.

What was the logic in having Dhoni, Rishabh and Dinesh all together?: Ravi Shastri  

However, the team management instead went with all-rounder Vijay Shankar. Speaking of the episode, Shastri firstly asserted that he had no hand in the team selection. However, he wasn’t amused with India’s 15-man squad having three wicketkeepers in MS Dhoni, Rishabh Pant, and Dinesh Karthik. He also said either Rayudu or Shreyas Iyer should have been in the squad.

“I had no say in that (team selection). But I wasn’t okay with three wicketkeepers being picked for the World Cup. Either Ambati or Shreyas could’ve come in. What was the logic in having MS Dhoni, Rishabh [Pant] and Dinesh [Karthik] all together?” said Shastri in a conversation with The Times of India.

“But I never interfered with the selectors’ work, except when I was asked for feedback or as part of a general discussion,” he added. For the unversed, India were pretty impressive in the 2019 World Cup as they topped the league stages, having won seven of their nine fixtures.

However, an 18-run defeat against New Zealand in the semi-finals ended their campaign in the gala competition. Chasing a target of 240 in Manchester, India collapsed to 24 for 4 before half-centuries from Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni kept the Men in Blue in the hunt. India, eventually, went down by 18 runs and got knocked out of the event. Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid has replaced Shastri as India’s head coach and expectations are sky high from the former Indian skipper.