Rajendra Chandrika blames shot selection for pair on Test debut

Rajendra Chandrika

Georgetown (Guyana), June 24 (IANS) West Indies batsman Rajendra Chandrika, who failed to score in his two innings on Test debut, has blamed poor shot selection for his dismissals.

The 25-year-old opener recorded ducks in his two innings during the second Test against Australia in the recently concluded series at Kingston, Jamaica. The Guyanese cricketer has become the 40th player in the history of Test cricket to score a pair of ducks on debut, reports CMC.

"Once I reached the middle, all I had wanted is to get off the mark in both innings. But the shot selections were not good," said Chandrika.

Chandrika got into the Test side after hitting 75 against the Australians, playing for the WICB XI in the warm-up clash at the Sir Viv Richards Ground in Antigua. He was drafted into the final XI for the second Test after Marlon Samuels was ruled out.

On both occasions, Chandrika lost his wicket to pacer Mitchell Starc in identical fashion, driving at deliveries angled across him and getting caught behind the wicket and at gully respectively.

"I just want to put that Test behind me and concentrate on the future. I still have a lot of cricket in me so one bad Test is not the end," he said.

Chandrika is the second West Indian to be scoreless in both innings on Test debut after spinner and No.11 batsman Alf Valentine at Manchester in 1950.