India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir (L) and Ajit Agarkar (R), chairperson of the Senior Men’s Selection Committee, talk during a practice session. (AP) Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Sarfaraz Khan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Mohammed Shami… More could make this unfortunate list but for now these would suffice to throw light on how the recent selection committees chaired by Ajit Agarkar have operated with a high degree of randomness, personal bias and preconceived notions. Objectivity has often taken a backseat and the ‘what could be’ has been given precedent over the ‘what is’. It will be safe to say Indian cricket has let these extremely talented cricketers down, one selection call at a time.
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While Hardik was conveniently shunted out of the white-ball leadership group, Shreyas and Ishan were punished for not being serious about domestic cricket. The curious case of Sarfaraz – right from his delayed call-up to the senior team – remains an unsolved mystery, much like Easwaran warming the bench for 10 overseas Tests on the trot. Rinku, in spite of his solid List A and First Class record, has been earmarked as a T20I specialist who has hardly gotten consistent game time. There has been continuous chatter around Samson but he too has been conveniently moved in and out of the team, and in the batting order. As far as Gaikwad is concerned, it’s another classic example of how the domestic circuit is a lonely grind for Indian cricketers.Shami? His case is there for everyone to see and the veteran seamer is very likely paying the price for his multiple outbursts over selection matters.
Mohammed Shami continues to operate on Indian cricket team’s sidelines despite faring well in the domestic circuit. (AP)
Even after the aforementioned cases, Indian cricket, chief selector in particular, hasn’t learnt the lesson. It was only due to the individual’s steely resolve that they continue to be relevant and in the scheme of things. Had it been down to the system, they would have been lost in the wild and all this largely due to the perceptions in the mind of the chief selector. Shami continues to turn up for Bengal but Agarkar feels he isn’t playing enough. Ishan has been a regular in the domestic circuit, earned India A call last year ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, was close to getting a Test call during the England tour but the chief selector said in Dubai – when the team was announced for West Indies Tests – that he needs to play and perform more. Before the India A call, Ishan played everything from DY Patil T20 tourney to the multi-day Buchi Babu down South but the chief selector was clearly not keeping tabs.Players who have been treated randomly and not on objectivity by India’s selectors
- Hardik Pandya
- Shreyas Iyer
- Ishan Kishan
- Sarfaraz Khan
- Abhimanyu Easwaran
- Rinku Singh
- Sanju Samson
- Ruturaj Gaikwad
- Mohammed Shami
It is understood that Ishan’s name came up for discussion during the selection for South Africa ODIs too but it didn’t get much support. A player who has a double-hundred in the format was overlooked as the chief selector was okay to add a third wicket-keeper in Dhruv Jurel – who is yet to feature in the format – but not Ishan. Even at a time when the team management wants to try out more left-handers in the middle-order.Why? Because the player chose to speak his mind and requested a break after non-stop travel – which was mostly on the bench.Ishan isn’t the only one sailing in this boat and he has Shreyas for company.
Shreyas Iyer has time and again had his place questioned despite doing well for India, playing the domestic circuit and leading KKR to IPL glory in 2024.
Iyer is a player who made repeated attempts to draw attention towards his troubled back but found no takers. Even when he skipped domestic fixtures to recover, question marks were raised over his commitment and he was dropped from the centrally contracted players’ list. The right-hander played a crucial role in India’s brilliant 2023 ODI World Cup campaign and was conveniently dropped from the system. He went back to the domestic grind, helped KKR win the IPL, did well for Mumbai, starred with the bat in Champions Trophy, gave another bumper IPL with Punjab Kings but was overlooked for the Asia Cup. When Mr Agarkar was asked, he said where do we play him? It seemed like a fair point as far as the packed 15 was concerned but it was baffling to see Iyer’s name missing even from the standbys.It invited a lot of backlash and forced the BCCI top brass to take note. There were murmurs in the corridors that some old matter between Iyer and Agarkar, possibly during Mumbai or Delhi Capitals days, was influencing decision making. Every selection and non-selection has become an event in the last few months as Agarkar & Co continue to operate on a completely different wavelengths. Randomness takes over when no proper structure is followed. There is always space for instinctive calls but those can’t be the only calls you take. In a country littered with talent, it’s the job of the selectors to ensure it meets adequate opportunities.If order isn’t restored, the day isn’t far where India will be in a position to field a parallel mishandled Playing XI.
