"Obvious favouritism": Fans bash management over Arshdeep Singh's snub in IND vs NZ 1st ODI

Arshdeep Singh was benched for IND vs NZ 1st ODI [Source: Sivy_Raina3]

India faces New Zealand in the first of the three-match ODI series on Sunday, January 11, in Vadodara, with a close to full strength squad at India's disposal with the returns of captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer. However, despite making most of his ODI chances, left-arm pace Arshdeep Singh was left out of the playing XI.

For the series opener, India opted for a five-bowler attack plus a spin-bowling all-rounder, consisting three pacers, led by Mohammed Siraj alongside Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna. This combination means yet another snub for Arshdeep, after he has been in and out of the T20I and ODI XIs for the last few months, despite performing well at every opportunity.

Fans did not hold back and took to the interernet to lach on to the team management and captain for this questionable tactic and called out favourtisim in the team selections. See how they reacted below.

Another snub for Arshdeep Singh grows frustrations

Ahead of the series against the Blackcaps, India faced South Africa at home and Australia away in the past three months, where the lanky pacer picked 8 wickets, conceding at an economy of well under 6, making his presence felt with tight spells with the new ball and picking picking important wickets, including the likes of Quinton de Kock among others.

He further went on to play two Vijay Hazare Trophy matches for Punjab against Sikkim and Goa and returned with impressive figures of 5/34 (10) and 2/26 (6) to guide Punjab to the qualification into knockouts.

Hence, the hopes from him were high and the bowler was considered as one of India's first bowlers on the team sheet. Courtsey of the omission, fans felt it was harsh on the player to consistently be treated this way and vented their discontent.

Here's how the fans reacted on Twitter/X: