Bedi slams 'spineless, confusing' selection
Former India spinner Bishan Bedi has questioned the selection of Sachin Tendulkar for the upcoming Asia Cup, insisting the veteran batsman should not be playing in such an "inconsequential" tournament. Tendulkar, largely selective about the series he participates in these days, has committed to India's limited-overs cause for the first time since last year's World Cup. Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, meanwhile, have been rested from a 15-man squad that also sees the return of Ashok Dinda and Yusuf Pathan to the ODI fold. The 65-year-old Bedi suggested that the right-handed Tendulkar, still searching for an elusive 100th international century, should have been rested in the wake of the team’s long tour of Australia, where they endured a fournil Test series defeat and mixed results in the ongoing ODI triseries.
"I am still a little confused whether our selectors have actually spoken to Sachin Tendulkar about going to Bangladesh and playing an inconsequen-
Tendulkar, largely selective about the series he participates in these days, has committed to India's limited-overs cause for the first time since last year's World Cup. Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, meanwhile, have been rested from a 15-man squad that also sees the return of Ashok Dinda and Yusuf Pathan to the ODI fold.
tial tournament like the Asia Cup which should be only for budding cricketers," Bedi was quoted as saying by DNA.
"Sehwag and Zaheer have been rested owing to injury issues in Australia. Sachin, too, deserved rest as he has played almost the same amount of cricket Down Under and more so because of his age.
"I only hope that Sachin has not just been included with a wish that he could complete his 100th international century on Bangladesh soil. This isn’t positive thinking. Sachin, himself, would not like our selectors to have such a mindset.
"All I know is that our selectors are spineless and the myopia clearly reflects in their methods too. The selection is confusing and basically reflects a clogged mind.
Virat Kohli was named vice-captain in Sehwag’s absence. Bedi expressed great praise for Kohli, who was last year's leading ODI runscorer and is currently top of the run-scoring pile in across ODI tri-series. The talented batsman was particularly impressive against Sri Lanka in Hobart earlier this week, when he hammered a brisk 133 not out to secure his side a bonus-point win and hence keep their hopes of graduating to the best-of-three final alive.
"For a change, the selectors showed faith in a youngster. The elevation of Virat as vicecaptain is a move in the right direction. Pushing him sooner rather than later shows that the selectors are disgusted with India's performances. Virat could actually give them some kind of respite and vision for the future," added Bedi.
"I want to wish him a happy and bright future. He deserved this reward more than anyone else in the team. I am equally sure that this young lad will quickly adapt to his new role and not take it as a burden. Most often than not, a young person gets carried away with too much of public glare. Virat needs to be careful."
The seven-match Asia Cup, which also features Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, gets underway on 11 March and ends 11 days later. India are the defending champions.
Cricket365