Sourav Ganguly calls decision to drop Amit Mishra for Jayant Yadav as harsh

At the same ground, Mishra took a fifer in 5th ODI of the New Zealand series.

New Delhi: Amit Mishra was included in the India's first XI for Rajkot Test after his scintillating performances against New Zealand in the 5-match ODI series.

Saha was a part of the 3-spinner combination including Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja but all three of them struggled to pick wickets in the 1st Test.

For the second Test, coach Anil Kumble opted to pick Jayant Yadav in place of Amit Mishra, with the latter being labeled as the scapegoat of India's struggle in 1st Test by Sunil Gavaskar.

Now former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly also branded the decision as harsh on Mishra who as per Dada didn't bowl bad.

Speaking to India Today, Ganguly said,

“A bit harsh on Mishra to get dropped and I feel he bowled well in the second innings of (1st) Rajkot Test. I can understand from where the team management is coming with England having five left-handers. At times you pick horses for courses but the message has to be clear to Mishra that he was not dropped for poor form.”

In an Interview with ESPNCricinfo, Dada also said that Mishra deserved as much chance to play the Vizag Test as did Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, calling the decision as harsh on the leggie.

It was the same ground where Amit Mishra claimed five wickets to skittle New Zealand out for a lowly total of 79 as India thrashed the Black Caps by 190 runs in 5th ODI to clinch the five-match one-day international series 3-2.

Mishra, who returned with impressive figures of 5-18 in six overs, claimed 15 wickets in total in the five matches and was judged the man of the match and the player of the series.

Ganguly also advised Kumble to not panic after just one draw, that too in a home series and tell Mishra that he in India's future plans.