The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday named Ishan Kishan as the replacement for KL Rahul in the Test squad for the upcoming WTC final but the fans are not happy with the selectors' choice.
The ICC World Test Championship final between Australia and India will be played at The Oval in London from June 7.
Ishan Kishan has been in decent form with the bat in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, having scored 293 runs from 10 matches at an average of nearly 30 so far for the Mumbai Indians.
But the fans wanted to see the veteran Wriddhiman Saha instead of Kishan in the squad for the World Test Championship final.
Age over experience?
Saha has also showed good form in IPL 2023 for Gujarat Titans and also has the experience of playing Test cricket overseas.
The 38-year-old has amassed 273 runs from 11 matches so far at 27.30 and recently scored 81 against Lucknow Super Giants as his highest score this season.
Saha is also a veteran of 40 Test matches in which he's scored 1353 runs at 29.41 with three hundreds and six fifties.
Fans say 'Mumbai lobby' at work
Fans vented their frustration on social media over the non-selection of Saha, who they feel "deserved one final chance" but the Indian team management, especially head coach Rahul Dravid has already told him that he is no longer part of their future plans.
Saha was replaced by Rishabh Pant as the first-choice wicketkeeper and eventually dropped from the squad.
KS Bharat most likely to keep wickets in WTC Final
KS Bharat made his way as the second wicketkeeper in the Test squad and made his debut this year after Pant got injured in a car accident in January.
Bharat is most likely to be first choice to keep wickets in the WTC final, unless he sustains and injury or the team management feels Kishan would be better-suited for the role in England.
