CHENNAI: Keep working hard and it will get noticed one day. That’s what coaches tell youngsters. The motivating line is similar in domestic cricket. Toil away from the spotlight. Performance will eventually fetch a place at the higher level.
While there is no denying that domestic competitions remain the platform to attain national limelight, Ranji Trophy’s recent history shows an interesting trend. From the teams that won India’s premier first-class competition in the last few years, hardly anybody has played for the country.
Saurashtra, Vidarbha (twice) and Gujarat were the winners in the last four seasons. Saurashtra were in the final on three other occasions. Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja (both Saurashtra), Umesh Yadav (Vidarbha) and Jasprit Bumrah (Gujarat) are the India regulars from these states. But they were established names before their sides became Ranji champions. They only played a few games in those campaigns. Those who helped their teams win — when the stars were on India duty — seldom made that grade.
Vidarbha’s Faiz Fazal and Rajneesh Gurbani, Chintan Gaja and Priyank Panchal of Gujarat, and Saurashtra’s Jaydev Unadkat and Arpit Vasavada played key roles in their teams’ ascent. But most of them didn’t move up to the next level. Unadkat did, but couldn’t stay there. More than unfair selection, this shows the gap between domestic and international standards. It also suggests that to win Ranji, a team doesn’t need the cream of talent available in the country.
Former selection committee chief MSK Prasad explains that performing in the domestic circuit is just the first step. “Fazal, Gurbani, Panchal, Jadeja (Dharmendrasinh) and a few others got opportunities in Duleep Trophy, Board President’s XI and then in India A teams. If you notice, in the last few years, only those who did well in two consecutive series for the A team got selected for India. That’s the progression chart we have in place, looking at the bigger picture.”
“Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill and Navdeep Saini came through the A team route. When they did well in Ranji Trophy, some other team might have won. They were exceptional performers. A team may not have exceptional performers, but still win the title thanks to teamwork. That’s the distinction we have to make as selectors,” elaborates Prasad, who headed the selection committee from 2016 until last month.
That’s actually how it works. The standard of domestic cricket and requirements are such that a Ranji win is not a total indicator of pedigree. Among the states that won it in the last 10 years, only Karnataka and Mumbai have seen players make the national XI. Before Saurashtra, Vidarbha and Gujarat, Rajasthan had nobody in the Indian team despite winning in 2010-11 and 2011-12 (Deepak Chahar and Khaleel Ahmed played much later).
Unadkat sees sense in this line of thinking. Despite being among the successful domestic bowlers of late, the left-arm pacer has played only a few T20Is in the last five years. “It depends on what kind of players the Indian team needs at that moment. Maybe that’s why the selectors have backed a few players more than others.”
The Saurashtra captain also feels that players of some of the Ranji-winning teams need to do better. “With regards to Saurashtra, Vidarbha and even Gujarat, players from our teams have done well mostly in four-day games. They ought to be more consistent in all formats over a period of time. If they achieve that, some may miss out, but more players from such teams will stand a chance of making it.”