Currently recuperating from injuries, both Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy(NCA) in Bengaluru.
The expectation is that both players will recover full fitness before the Asia Cup slated to start on August 31.”When you are talking of a player who has not played and is recovering from injury. To think of him in the playing eleven of Asia Cup, you are asking a little too much of the player himself.
“And then you are talking about wicket-keeping when the guy has come from a knee injury, the range of movement, things like (that). That is a no, no straight,” Shastri told Star Sports in a panel discussion referring to Rahul.
He also warned against rushing back players from injuries.
“You can’t rush players back from injuries. You did that with Jasprit Bumrah, not once, twice but thrice and he has been out for 14 months now.”
In place of Rahul, Shastri would like to see rookie batter Tilak Varma in the middle order. He wants to see three left-handers in the top-seven, including Ravindra Jadeja.
“There are three other positions where I think two left-handers have to come in. Now, this is where the selectors’ role comes in because they are watching. They know who’s the guy who’s hot. If Tilak Varma is hot, bring him in. If you think (Yashasvi) Jaiswal is hot, bring him in.
“I am very impressed with Tilak and if I want a left-hander, I would look in that direction. The way he has got his runs over the last three months, whether in the IPL or India, he has ticked all the boxes,” said Shastri.
(With PTI inputs)