India should have picked Arshdeep Singh instead of Prasidh Krishna or Shardul Thakur in Centurion: Salman Butt

Salman Butt. (Photo Source: Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt slammed India’s selection after their humiliating defeat against South Africa in the first Test in Centurion. The hosts put up an all-round performance and outplayed Rohit Sharma and Co. to win by an innings and 32 runs.

Butt stated that India should have chosen Arshdeep Singh ahead of Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna in the opening Test. Mohammed Siraj performed well and picked up two wickets while Ravichandran Ashwin got one scalp. Meanwhile, Shardul and Prasidh, who made his Test debut in the opening game against the Proteas, failed to impress much as they took one wicket each at an economy of 5.30 and 4.70, respectively.

“Instead of playing Prasidh Krishna or Shardul Thakur, it would have been better if India picked Arshdeep Singh in the squad. He bowls over 135 kph and also swings the ball both ways. He might have been effective in the Test. Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur gave a lot of easy boundary balls. It doesn’t seem that the two can challenge batters,” said Butt on his YouTube channel.

In a surprising turn of events, India called up Avesh Khan a day after their embarrassing loss. The visitors believe the right-arm fast bowler could bolster their pace attack for the second and final Test in Cape Town, starting on January 3. He was named as a replacement for ace pacer Mohammed Shami, who was ruled out of the two red-ball games as he did not get clearance from BCCI’s (Board of Control for Cricket in India) medical team.

Avesh, who is yet to play a Test, has claimed a total of 154 wickets at an average of 22.27 from 39 first-class matches. The 27-year-old took part in India’s successful ODI series against the Proteas, where he picked up six wickets. He is currently playing for India A versus South Africa A in a four-day tour match at Benoni.