23/02/2026
The playing for place culture needs to stop. We play three formats and there is more than enough room to rotate players properly. A proper rotation policy should be brought back.
Abhishek did not start well. He was actually unwell from the first match and had to replace Samson only for fielding. Despite not being fully fit, he was pushed into the XI later and expected to deliver immediately. That is not fair on any player.
After that, SKY unnecessarily walked into the Pakistan captain’s trap and publicly confirmed Abhishek would play. The poor guy had just lost weight due to illness, was forced back in, and ended up with another duck. Then he was played again in a dead rubber against the Netherlands, which felt unnecessary.
The same pattern happened with Gill. We even delayed team selection to include him. Now something similar seems to be happening with Tilak too.
Why rush players who are not fully fit? Do we not have options like Jaiswal, Gaikwad, and Shreyas waiting?
