After the opening match in Vadodara, where the Men in Blue won by four wickets, all-rounder Washington Sundar was ruled out of the series due to a rib injury, which he sustained in the first half of the match. The team management then named Badoni as Sundar’s replacement for the last two matches, which Srikkanth believes will be heavily influenced by Gambhir.
The 1983 World Cup winner shed light on Badoni’s association with Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League, where Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir previously served as a mentor. He wondered if the decision was influenced by fame and not performance.
“What kind of door is this? Take two or three trucks, take them with you, go through and break the door. Really, I don’t understand what it is. Of Axar, Badoni, Nitish Reddy and Gaikwad, which two should really be in the team? Badoni played for LSG and Gambhir was the mentor there. I don’t see any other reason,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel Cheeky Cheeka.
Badoni represented Delhi in the ongoing case Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025–26 when he received his first call-up for India. Srikkanth further questioned Badoni’s credentials as an all-rounder and compared his recent figures with those of Axar Patel, who he felt should have been the natural replacement.
“Ayush Badoni, with this performance, [had] no chance. Also, what is his track record in the IPL? IPL and one-day cricket are different. He hasn’t done anything great. He’s not someone who can take the game away from you. Can he get to number six and hit sixes too? I don’t understand. What kind of nonsense is this? How is he considered a bowling all-rounder? the former India opener wondered.
“If an all-rounder is missing, why not bring in Axar Patel? He is a true all-rounder in all formats. Axar Patel also did well. So I don’t understand this. Axar is a successful and proven all-rounder. You leave him and choose Badoni. I don’t understand this selection. I don’t know what’s going on. This is absolutely unfair. Check out Axar’s recent performances. There is so much contrast. He’s done everything. He should have been an automatic choice,” he added.
For the unversed, Axar scored 75 runs in his last ODI series in two innings and claimed three wickets, besides strong performances in domestic cricket. The Gujarat cricketer played two matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for his state and scored 130 against Andhra Pradesh, besides picking two wickets for 27 runs. He also impressed in his second over by scoring 73 against Odisha.
Meanwhile, the Delhi cricketer scored just 16 runs from three innings at an average of 8.00 and picked up four wickets from 22 overs in the 50-over competition. In the IPL, he has amassed 963 runs from 56 matches at an average of 26.75 with a strike rate of 138.56, along with four wickets.
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