Indian cricket board must reassess its team selection policy
Like in politics and governance, every citizen in this country has an opinion on Indian cricket and its policies. It was not at all surprising when experts talked about the team selection for the West Indies tour. Of course, the discussion was not without merit. Take for instance, the Test team. The World Test Championships cycle will start with the tour to WI—and the team, instead of being infused with young up-and-coming batters and bowlers, had a lot of familiar faces. The Indian cricket board and its selection committee had an opportunity to usher in change but they spurned it with disdain.
The change, if at all, was dropping Cheteshwar Pujara (who is perhaps the one player who has been axed on a number of occasions). He is a player suited for Tests and whose credential in this format belies his dropping. Yes, he did have a moderate series recently, but in terms of consistency in Tests, he is one batter who India can turn to for lending solidity in the middle, especially in alien conditions. Like his dropping, the appointment of Ajinkya Rahane, a player without a central contract, as vice-captain, seemed baffling too. He was making a comeback after not a very impressive Test series last year. Yet, after one good performance during the WTC final, he has been given the vice-captaincy band. Perhaps it would have been prudent to groom a youngster as a future leader. Somehow, it was not meant to be. Rahane, at 35, is not even sure if he would figure in the next WTC final. Like Mohammed Shami, the senior spinners could have been rested.
What seems baffling was the exclusion of batters who have amassed runs in domestic cricket. Sarfaraz Khan, who made 1,538 runs in 12 matches in the last two Ranji seasons, Mayank Agarwal (highest scorer this season), and Abhimanyu Easwaran are cases in point. Ignoring domestic competition performances and giving precedence to IPL will only undermine the long-format competitions where the grassroots are watered and nurtured. Perhaps it’s high time the BCCI took the selection of players more seriously. Its inability to find a replacement for chairman of selectors for so long shows its lack of interest. India will be the only country that doesn’t have detailed interaction with selectors over team composition and selection. The world’s richest board is happy with press releases without any explanation for adding and dropping players. It’s high time they show some transparency and accountability.