NEW DELHI: Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly said that he finds it extremely baffling that Ajinkya Rahane has been handed Test vice-captaincy after spending nearly 18 months on the sidelines, demanding "consistency and continuity" in the selection process.
Rahane, 35, was out of favour for one-and-a-half years but was India's best batter in the World Test Championship final against Australia, with scores of 89 and 46 at the Oval, earlier this month.
Just one Test old after making a comeback, the national selection committee headed by interim chief Shiv Sunder Das re-appointed Rahane as Rohit Sharma's deputy for the West Indies Test series.
"So was it not ideal to groom someone like Shubman Gill for the role? Yeah, I think so," Ganguly told PTI during an exclusive interaction from London.
While he didn't term Rahane's ascendancy as a step backwards, he didn't term it as a pragmatic decision.
He said, "I won't say it's a step backwards. You have been out for 18 months, then you play a Test and you become a vice-captain. I don't understand the thought process behind it. There is Ravindra Jadeja, who has been there for a long time and is a certainty in Test matches, he is a candidate."
"But to just come back and straightway become vice-captain after 18 months, I don't understand. My only thing is that the selection shouldn't be hot and cold. There has to be continuity and consistency in selection," Ganguly, one of India's finest Test captains, said.
Need to have a 'clear idea' about Pujara
The Indian selectors have hit the transition button by excluding a batter of Chetshwar Pujara's stature and Ganguly wants that communication channel should be clear with a player, who has featured in more than 100 Tests for India.
"Selectors should have a clear idea about him (Pujara). Do they need him to play Test cricket anymore or do they want to continue with youngsters and communicate it to him. Somebody like Pujara can't be dropped, then picked, dropped again and then picked. Same with Ajinkya Rahane also," the straight-talking Ganguly said.
Domestic players should be given a chance
There has been an overgrowing feeling that even to get a nod in Test cricket, one needs to have a solid IPL like Ruturaj Gaikwad had.
Ganguly, though, disagrees with that notion.
He said that a prolific batter like Sarfaraz Khan, who could not do well in IPL, should get a chance to prove himself.
Ganguly said, "I think Yashasvi Jaiswal has scored tons of runs in Ranji Trophy, Irani Trophy, and Duleep Trophy. I think that's why he is in the squad. I feel for Sarfaraz Khan. At some point, he should get an opportunity for the amount of runs that he has scored in the past three years."
"And the same thing for Abhimanyu Easwaran for the tons of runs he has scored in last five to six years. I am surprised that both of them have been omitted but they should get a chance in future. But Yashasvi Jaiswal is a good selection," he added.
Ganguly has seen Sarfaraz from close quarters as Director of Cricket at Delhi Capitals and he isn't amused with the perception that he can't play fast bowling.
"If you don't play him (Sarfaraz) against fast bowling, how do you know?" he countered. "If he had problems he wouldn't have scored so many runs all around (India). I personally feel he has no problems against fast bowling and he should be given an opportunity."
IPL and the World Test Championship
When asked about if India needs a big name as chairman to stand up to big names in Indian team management.
"I don't want to comment on that, to be honest. No reason why one can't manage playing both IPL and World Test Championship final. The WTC final is always slated after two months of IPL and there is a school of thought that BCCI should speak to IPL franchises in order to monitor the workload of players," he said.
Ganguly, who has been on both sides of the fence feels it is not a practical solution.
"I don't agree with this theory. Ajinkya Rahane also played IPL and he played very well during IPL and World Test Championship final. So I don't believe in this theory. Some of the Australian boys (Cameron Green, David Warner), played well in IPL also and did well in World Test Championship," Ganguly said.
He said, "After IPL finished, there was enough time to acclimatise to Test cricket. They went to England and they played. It used to happen in the past. You played ODI cricket and you played Test cricket, things used to happen very, very quickly and so I don't believe it's an issue. So I believe that even if you play IPL, you should have the ability to adjust your technique and temperament and do well in a Test match."
World Cup venues
While a few traditional centres like Mohali and Nagpur have missed out, Ganguly praised both ICC and BCCI bigwigs for a good choice of venues.
"It's a great schedule and the allocation of the matches has been fantastic. BCCI and ICC have done a great job to give correct matches to the correct venues and I know it is going to be a tremendous World Cup. I know how BCCI organises the IPL, they will make it a spectacle," he concluded.