Former India pacer Ashish Nehra was surprised with the decision of giving the chance to the pacer Sandeep Warrier instead of left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore in the 3rd T20I against Sri Lanka on Thursday. He also said that the playing conditions in Colombo were suited for a spinner in the team.

However, Sandeep Warrier has made his international debut as a replacement for the pacer Navdeep Saini, who has sustained a shoulder injury during the 2nd T20I as well.

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“Navdeep Saini didn’t play and Warrier got a chance. He played for KKR in the IPL this year and has done decently in domestic cricket in terms of average and strike rate as well. But if you have to outright win a decider, then don’t you need an outright spinner like Sai Kishore considering the conditions? That didn’t happen. Navdeep Saini is a player who has been in your scheme of things, someone who is also playing in and out of Test and ODI matches. You brought in a seamer who isn’t that much in your scheme of things. That’s a bit shocking to me,” Ashish Nehra said in an interaction with Cricbuzz.

He also opened up that Saini didn’t get the chance to bowl in the 2nd T20I. He further stated that the decision showed India valued spinners more than pacers on this wicket and this has contradicted with the inclusion of Sandeep Warrier as well. However, after registering a convincing win in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, they lost the T20I series by 1-2 as well.

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“By not bowling Navdeep Saini [in the previous T20I], he got injured very late in the game you showed that two fast bowlers are enough and you want more from your spinners. Here, I am only talking about winning the game and not about trying a new player or the set process,” Nehra again shared.