Sri Lanka vs India 2017: Looks have become more important than form, says Sunil Gavaskar

What's the story?

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar is disappointed in Team India's approach towards the selection of their players. He feels that the talent of young cricketers is being ignored whereas players with 'different hair styles and body arts' are being preferred.

Gavaskar took a dig at the team management saying, "The way the selections have gone for this series, it looks like all the nice guys are being left out and they are missing out on fattening their individual career aggregates with bat or ball. Maybe they should start getting different hair styles and some body art done too to get picked in the team."

"It is understandable to keep the faith in a player but not at the expense of an in-form batsman who has done nothing wrong to be sitting out," he added.

In case you didn't know...

Many Indian cricketers have started to experiment with their hairstyles, gaining a lot of attention across all social media platforms. Players like Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya are considered trendsetters. Several others have also joined the fray, continuing to make to make headlines even though they might have failed on the field.

KL Rahul was given multiple chances despite being unimpressive in previous matches. On the other hand, Ajinkya Rahane (who was magnificent on the West Indies tour) was not included in the squad.

The details

While taking a dig at the selectors, Gavaskar went on to say that Rahane should have been included in the ODI squad for the ongoing series against Sri Lanka. However, the right-handed batsman was overlooked. This led to Gavaskar believing that players with incredible potential are falling prey to the flawed selection policies of the team management.

Despite his complaints, Gavaskar did not refrain from hailing the players' achievements. He especially credited the bowlers for their exceptional performances throughout the home and away seasons.

The 68-year-old stated that it was incredible on the part of the bowlers to restrict opposition teams to meager totals on the same pitch where the Indian batsmen built mammoth totals.

What's next?

India will face Sri Lanka in the fifth and final ODI today and look forward to whitewashing the Islanders in their own backyard.

Author's take

Modern day cricketers sport trendy looks which appeal to their fan bases. They do not hesitate from experimenting with their appearances. Moreover, the advent of social media has enabled the masses to gain an insight into the lives of their favourite players off the field.

It's true that Rahane could have been included in the squad especially since India are leading the series 3-0. However, it's not fair to undermine the potential of the other players simply because they choose to sport different hairstyles and beards.