Former India captain, and ex chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth blasted India’s T20I squad for the upcoming Ireland and England series. In a very casual but pointed way, the ex opener said he has doubts about a few selection calls, like the whole Tilak Varma vice captain thing and also Rajat Patidar not being picked , which, didn’t sit well. India has recently named Shreyas Iyer as the new T20I captain. After Axar Patel lost the role he held during the T20 World Cup, Tilak Varma was then named vice-captain. On his YouTube channel CheekyCheekaTV, Srikkanth sounded genuinely surprised. “Tilak Varma hasn’t even captained a side,” he said, basically asking what was the logic behind the decision, and how it made sense to the selectors, and team management. Srikkanth backs Rajat Patidar Srikkanth seemed especially bothered that Rajat Patidar was left out of the squad, despite Patidar having a huge IPL 2026 season. He then went on to compare Tilak and Patidar, and you could tell who he thinks should have made it. Srikkanth said: “He is not in form, and he doesn’t have the big-hitting capacity. He is not a tearaway batter. He can play shots, but he can’t demolish attacks like a Phil Salt or Rajat Patidar. Tilak Varma can’t smash the bowling like Rajat Patidar.” “He hasn’t done well for MI in the last two to three IPLs. He can’t take the opposition out of a contest. At his position, he has to play impactful knocks like Patidar.” Patidar put up a crazy IPL 2026. He led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a second straight IPL title, and scored 501 runs at a strike rate of 192.69. He also cleared the ropes 42 times, during the tournament. Still, despite those stats, Patidar didn’t get a place in the squad, and that has sparked a lot of debate among fans, plus some experts too. Also Read | "We Played in Pakistan With Guns Outside Our Rooms" - Litton Das Questions Bangladesh's India Boycott Washington Sundar selection also under fire Srikkanth also took aim at the inclusion of Washington Sundar. He feels Sundar hasn’t delivered enough as an all-rounder in recent months. He Added: “Washington Sundar doesn’t deserve a place in the team. He doesn’t even bowl for GT and is playing as a middle-order batter. So he is a stand-by middle-order batter for India as he’s not bowling at all. He doesn’t bowl for GT and rarely bowls even for India. So it’s a question mark as to how Sundar is a certainty in the side as an all-rounder.” In IPL 2026, Sundar bowled just 9.1 overs across 17 matches for Gujarat Titans. Srikkanth argued that Krunal Pandya would have been the better pick, because Krunal gives contributions with both bat and ball. Krunal scored 226 runs, and took 14 wickets for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the season. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar said the squad selection is tough since many players are competing for limited spots. But Srikkanth is still of the opinion that some decisions were hard to defend, and he has kept challenging the selectors over those choices.