England vs India: RP Singh surprised as India pick Shreyas Iyer ahead of in-form Deepak Hooda in 3rd T20I
India Today
RP Singh revealed that he was surprised India didn't go with Deepak Hooda for the final game against England.
RP Singh revealed that he was surprised that India decided to go with Shreyas Iyer instead of in-form Deepak Hooda in the third ODI against England on Sunday.
Hooda has been in fine touch as he was the star man for Indian team during the tour of Ireland, where he scored his maiden T20I hundred. He even made a good impact in the first T20I of the ongoing series as he scored 33 runs off 17 balls.
However, since then, the 27-year-old has failed to make the starting lineup in the last two games, despite India making four changes for the third ODI.
Singh, talking on Cricbuzz' YouTube channel, said that he was surprised Hooda didn't make the team for the final match and said he would have picked him instead of Shreyas Iyer if he was the captain.
“You must play someone who is in form, Deepak Hooda was in form as he has scored so many runs. But by playing Iyer, you are trying to get him back in his form which is beyond my understanding. If I was the captain, I would have played Deepak Hooda,” said Singh.
Former Indian wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel also expressed his displeasure with India's decision to not go with Hooda. He commented that the consistency shown by Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma in terms of team selection wasn't on display today and felt Iyer got the opportunity because he performed well before the IPL.
“I am really surprised. For some time this Indian team management under Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma had shown some consistency. But that wasn’t on display here today. It is a different thought process and I am a little surprised. Maybe, he (Shreyas) got the opportunity because he had done well before IPL,” Patel said on Cricbuzz Youtube channel.
