New Delhi: India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has lashed out at former cricketer and ex-selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth, after the latter mocked him by calling a young fast bowler Gambhir’s “favourite player.”
According to Gambhir, the real issue is that a 23-year-old emerging pacer is being unfairly targeted — something he called completely wrong.
The controversy began when Srikkanth, who was India’s top scorer (38 runs) in the 1983 World Cup final against the West Indies, questioned the selection of Harshit Rana for India’s upcoming tour of Australia on his YouTube channel. Srikkanth had said that Rana was picked only because he was “Gambhir’s favourite.”
What exactly did Srikkanth say?
A video of Srikkanth’s comments went viral. In it, he said:
“You don’t select players who are performing well, but you include those who aren’t in form. The best example is Harshit Rana — he’s in the team just because he’s Gautam Gambhir’s yes-man.”
Gambhir reacted strongly to these remarks during a press conference after India’s final Test against the West Indies.
Gambhir’s sharp respons
For the Australia ODIs, India has picked Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Harshit Rana as four specialist pace bowlers, along with Nitish Reddy as a pace-bowling all-rounder.
Gambhir hit back, saying:
“It’s shameful that to run your YouTube channel, you target a 23-year-old player. Harshit’s father isn’t a former chairman, ex-cricketer, or an NRI. This young bowler has earned his place purely on merit — and he will continue to do so. Imagine what impact such comments can have on a 23-year-old’s mind?”
“What if it were your own son…”
With a stern expression, Gambhir continued:
“If your own son started playing cricket and was humiliated this way, how would you feel? He’s just 23, not 33. You can say anything about me — I can take criticism — but making such remarks about a young player is unacceptable.”
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