Harsha Bhogle accuses England of belittling Test cricket for IPL and T20 World Cup 2021

England are set to travel to India for a two-month-long tour where the cricketing giants will lock horns across four Tests, three ODIs and five T20 internationals. The England Cricket Board (ECB) recently announced the England squad for India 2021 for the first two Tests. Notably, Jonny Bairstow who is one of the most important parts of their batting line-up was rested.

ALSO READ | India vs England: Chennai Tests to have no crowd; Ahmedabad could see fans coming in

Harsha Bhogle baffled with ECB's decision to rest key players

The decision to rest Bairstow hasn't gone down well with a lot of former cricketers including Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen among others. The Englishmen hit out at the ECB for not selecting the best team for the first two Tests of the series. Now, cricket analyst and commentator Harsha Bhogle has expressed his anguish over the ECB's decision.

The veteran analyst took to Twitter and said that he is baffled with England's decision to rest players from a series that is crucial to their chances of making it to the World Test Championship (WTC) final. He accused the ECB of belittling the importance of the WTC, which has been conceptualised to give more context and priority to Test cricket. Bhogle further said that he is eager to know if the players have been rested because they wanted to or needed to.

According to Bhogle, if the players have been rested despite them wanting to play, then ECB is ending up making them insecure which he reckoned isn't an ideal state of mind to be in for anybody. The 59-year-old reiterated that Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow are a crucial part of England's limited-overs set up, who will also be available for IPL 2021. Elaborating on the same, Bhogle said that he feels England are prioritising winning the T20 World Cup, which will be held in India later this year, rather than the World Test Championship, for which the final will co-incidentally be hosted by England in June. In the end, Bhogle also expressed his concern about Test cricket's future.

ALSO READ | India vs England: Selectors to pick squad for first two Test matches on Tuesday

England squad for India 2021 (first 2 Tests): Joe Root (Captain), Ben Stokes (Vice-captain), Jos Buttler (Wicket-keeper), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, James Anderson, Dom Bess, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Dom Sibley, Jack Leach

ALSO READ | Ajit Agarkar reckons that Maxwell might fetch a bid of INR 10 Crores in IPL 2021 Auctions

Kevin Pietersen Slams England For Not Fielding Best Team Vs India

With the announcement of England's squad for the first two Tests against India opening floodgates for the selectors, Pietersen has also criticised the management for not fielding the best team against India. The Englishman opined that it is 'disrespectful' to the fans and the BCCI as well to not play the best team. He also added that the 'best players' would prioritise the IPL rather than early seasons of Tests.

Taking to Twitter on Sunday, the former swashbuckling batsman asserted that Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad and James Anderson have to play the first two Tests against India which is slated to begin from February 5 in Chennai. Bairstow, who seems to be in phenomenal form in the Sri Lanka Test series which is currently underway, has been rested for the first two Tests. Moreover, Pietersen stated that one should prioritise playing international cricket for the country only as a youngster and not when one is the 'best player'. Here's Pietersen's outlook on the selection debacle: 

ALSO READ | Suresh Raina, AB de Villiers join THIS elite club ahead of IPL 2021 auction

SOURCE: HARSHA BHOGLE INSTAGRAM