Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal has questioned India’s decision to play a full strength side in the three-match series against Afghanistan. The 44-year-old said that India should not have kept Vaibhav Sooryavanshi out of the team for the opening game on Sunday and felt that there was no need for the likes of Jasprit Bumrah to play in this series.

“One hundred percent (on whether India should have played their B team). Sooryavanshi does not sit out against this team. If you play them against England, you are dropping them against Afghanistan,” Akmal said on the Game Plan podcast.

“I think series like these help develop backup players. Whether it is MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, they did not play against such teams. They would get three or four core players to rest. I don’t understand why Bumrah is playing, why Arshdeep Singh is not playing”.

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“I think they had a lot of options. It is difficult for any team to play in India. This was the best chance for them to get new players. They should have prepared Sooryavanshi. We have been watching this for the last 12-15 years. You are making the whole team play against such teams. There is no need to play Arshdeep Singh. No need to play Bumrah. In fact, there is no need to play Abhishek Sharma, either. You will see that he becomes a butcher. He does not leave. He scored 82 runs in 33 balls.”

“Don’t play everyone. Let two-three players play and give others a rest,” he added.

Akmal also felt that leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy looked in good rhythm in the series opener on Sunday, and his performance was a positive sign for India.

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“Varun’s rhythm was good. The team was like this, the opponent was like this. But you will see, from the World Cup to the England series, he was not doing so well. Maybe after playing this series, Varun can bring his rhythm back. It will be a good sign for the Indian team,” he said.

The two teams will play in the second match of the series on Tuesday.