Dodda Ganesh, former India pacer, was left fuming after the Indian team management led by coach Gautam Gambhir dropped KL Rahul from playing XI for the all-important third ODI against Sri Lanka. This match is being played in Colombo on August 7, 2024, and India needs to win the match to avoid a series loss.
India last lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka, way back in 1997, and with the first ODI ending in a tie and Sri Lanka winning the second match, India needs to win the third and final match to level the series and keep their record intact.
Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka won the toss for the third time in a row and chose to bat first at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday, August 7. Sri Lanka made one change in their playing XI as Akila Dhananjaya made way for a now-fit Maheesh Theekshana.
Ridiculous is an understatement: Dodda Ganesh on KL Rahul being dropped from India XI
There were changes expected in the Indian team as well and the new Gautam Gambhir management didn’t disappoint. They dropped Arshdeep Singh to bring in Riyan Parag, who became the first Assamese player to play an ODI for India.
But in a shocking turnaround, KL Rahul, who had batted well and kept brilliantly in the first two games, was dropped as well, with Rishabh Pant replacing him behind the stumps. Rahul returned with scores of 31 (43) and a two-ball duck, respectively, in his two outings of the series. The Men in Blue tied the opening game before losing the second fixture by 32 runs.
Dodda Ganesh, the former India player, was left furious and wondering about the logic of Gautam Gambhir and co. for dropping KL Rahul for this important must-win match for India.
He questioned how Shivam Dube and Riyan Parag could play ahead of the veteran Rahul, who had led India in ODIs prior to the Sri Lanka series.
“Only in a crazy universe will u have Dube and Riyan Parag playing ahead of KL Rahul, in a decider ODI. Don’t understand what’s happening. He was leading India just 3 ODIs ago and all of a sudden, one failure & he is out of the playing XI. Ridiculous is an understatement,” he posted on X.
Only in a crazy universe will u have Dube and Riyan Parag playing ahead of KL Rahul, in a decider ODI. Don’t understand what’s happening. He was leading India just 3 ODIs ago and all of a sudden, one failure & he is out of the playing XI. Ridiculous is an understatement #SLvIND
— Dodda Ganesh | ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗಣೇಶ್ (@doddaganesha) August 7, 2024
India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Riyan Parag, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj.
Sri Lanka XI: Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka (c), Janith Liyanage, Kamindu Mendis, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, and Asitha Fernando.
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