Future or not?
Sandeep Patil’s selection panel dumps a few young cricketers to give chance to another bunch.
The last time the Sandeep Patil– led selection panel met it was a day before the Indian Premier League auction. They were picking the team for the Asia Cup in Bangladesh and the World T20 in India. The panel pulled out a rabbit out of the hat. They named Delhi left-arm spinner Pawan Negi.
Negi, till then, had played just three first-class matches and had been part of the now-suspended Chennai Super Kings. Captain MS Dhoni had used him as a pinch-hitter at times but with limited success. It was a huge leap for Negi.
Or maybe no. Negi played one match in the Asia Cup (vs UAE) and played just eight of the 14 IPL matches for Daredevils. And yesterday when the selectors met at the Wankhede to pick the teams for the Zimbabwe ODI-T20 and West Indies Test tours, Negi’s name was missing from all three squads.
The exclusion from the limited overs team is baffling. The selection panel must have seen something extraordinary in Negi to make him part of the World Twenty20 squad. But all that Negi got was one international game. Or did the selectors go by his IPL form where he scored just 57 runs in 8 games and picked just one wicket in nine overs he bowled?
The left-arm spinner’s slot has gone to Axar Patel. Interestingly, Patel was part of the Indian team for the 2015 World Cup and was dumped just before the World T20. Are the selectors appointing a revolving door selection policy as they look for an Indian team for the future?
Hardik Pandya has a right to be aggrieved. He was hailed for his ability to take pressure when he bowled that magical over against Bangladesh in Bangalore during World T20. Bangladesh needed 11 runs and Pandya had stopped them, picking wickets off the last two balls. He had played a couple of good hands with the bat too in the tournament.
Unlike Negi, Pandya had got a few more chances at the international level where he had shown that he could be the one for the future. So what wrong did he do for this treatment? Pandya’s slot has gone to Rishi Dhawan, who had played three ODIs in Australia.
Does anyone remember Karn Sharma, the stocky leg-spinner from Railways. He played a Test in Australia. But now the selectors have decided to have a look at another leggie -- Yuzvendra Chahal from Haryana. Chahal has done well for Royal Challenger Bangalore this season.
Another man who seems to have fallen from the grace is Gurkeerat Mann, the Punjab off-spinner and a hard-hitting batsman. He played three games in Australia early last year but finds himself out of favour against a week team like Zimbabwe. Jayant Yadav, a similar sort of a player from Haryana, has been chosen. The question is why not Parvez Rasol who has been picked often but has been given just one international game? Are the selectors preparing a XI of young former India players?
As far as big names go, Suresh Raina’s exclusion is a surprise. These days he doesn’t feature in the Test and ODI teams but has been brought back for T20. He has done well in the IPL, scoring 397 runs and leading Gujarat Lions into the play-off.
As expected all big names are missing from the squad for Zimbabwe. Having retired from Test cricket and with no lim- ited overs cricket lined up this year, MS Dhoni will lead the side. Virat Kohli is playing the IPL with an injured hand, but has been advised rest after that.
As Patlil tried to explain this strange thing, BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke intervened saying, “Let us not look things that way please. I request. He is one of our top players. If there is a medical report in the middle of a tournament and he has been given a certain medical advice, let us not turn everything upside down, let’s not give it an angle that he is ready to play in the IPL and not for India.
I must clarify because doubts may arise.” OK! Sorry for doubting.
ODI and T20 squad MS Dhoni (capt & wk), KL Rahul, Faiz Fazal, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, Ambati Rayudu, Rishi Dhawan, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Barinder Sran, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal
END OF YUVI, BHAJJI?
Sandeep Patil gave a strange answer to this question when he said, “The selectors have no right to tell any player when to retire. The selectors have the right to pick the players, looking at their form, performance and fitness. We selected the players (Harbhajan and Yuvraj) looking at them for the T20 World Cup, now we are looking at the future of Indian cricket but that doesn’t mean that these names will not be considered. They will have to perform and we will be very happy if they perform and get back into the Indian side.” Is it the end or not? Go Figure.
The last time the Sandeep Patil– led selection panel met it was a day before the Indian Premier League auction. They were picking the team for the Asia Cup in Bangladesh and the World T20 in India. The panel pulled out a rabbit out of the hat. They named Delhi left-arm spinner Pawan Negi.
Negi, till then, had played just three first-class matches and had been part of the now-suspended Chennai Super Kings. Captain MS Dhoni had used him as a pinch-hitter at times but with limited success. It was a huge leap for Negi.
A bigger shock came the next day when Delhi Daredevils bought him for Rs 8.5 cr. National selectors and Delhi talent managers were on the same page. They were seen something special in the youngster.
Or maybe no. Negi played one match in the Asia Cup (vs UAE) and played just eight of the 14 IPL matches for Daredevils. And yesterday when the selectors met at the Wankhede to pick the teams for the Zimbabwe ODI-T20 and West Indies Test tours, Negi’s name was missing from all three squads.
The exclusion from the limited overs team is baffling. The selection panel must have seen something extraordinary in Negi to make him part of the World Twenty20 squad. But all that Negi got was one international game. Or did the selectors go by his IPL form where he scored just 57 runs in 8 games and picked just one wicket in nine overs he bowled?
The left-arm spinner’s slot has gone to Axar Patel. Interestingly, Patel was part of the Indian team for the 2015 World Cup and was dumped just before the World T20. Are the selectors appointing a revolving door selection policy as they look for an Indian team for the future?
Hardik Pandya has a right to be aggrieved. He was hailed for his ability to take pressure when he bowled that magical over against Bangladesh in Bangalore during World T20. Bangladesh needed 11 runs and Pandya had stopped them, picking wickets off the last two balls. He had played a couple of good hands with the bat too in the tournament.
Unlike Negi, Pandya had got a few more chances at the international level where he had shown that he could be the one for the future. So what wrong did he do for this treatment? Pandya’s slot has gone to Rishi Dhawan, who had played three ODIs in Australia.
Does anyone remember Karn Sharma, the stocky leg-spinner from Railways. He played a Test in Australia. But now the selectors have decided to have a look at another leggie -- Yuzvendra Chahal from Haryana. Chahal has done well for Royal Challenger Bangalore this season.
Another man who seems to have fallen from the grace is Gurkeerat Mann, the Punjab off-spinner and a hard-hitting batsman. He played three games in Australia early last year but finds himself out of favour against a week team like Zimbabwe. Jayant Yadav, a similar sort of a player from Haryana, has been chosen. The question is why not Parvez Rasol who has been picked often but has been given just one international game? Are the selectors preparing a XI of young former India players?
As far as big names go, Suresh Raina’s exclusion is a surprise. These days he doesn’t feature in the Test and ODI teams but has been brought back for T20. He has done well in the IPL, scoring 397 runs and leading Gujarat Lions into the play-off.
As expected all big names are missing from the squad for Zimbabwe. Having retired from Test cricket and with no lim- ited overs cricket lined up this year, MS Dhoni will lead the side. Virat Kohli is playing the IPL with an injured hand, but has been advised rest after that.
As Patlil tried to explain this strange thing, BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke intervened saying, “Let us not look things that way please. I request. He is one of our top players. If there is a medical report in the middle of a tournament and he has been given a certain medical advice, let us not turn everything upside down, let’s not give it an angle that he is ready to play in the IPL and not for India.
I must clarify because doubts may arise.” OK! Sorry for doubting.
ODI and T20 squad MS Dhoni (capt & wk), KL Rahul, Faiz Fazal, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, Ambati Rayudu, Rishi Dhawan, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Barinder Sran, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal
END OF YUVI, BHAJJI?
Sandeep Patil gave a strange answer to this question when he said, “The selectors have no right to tell any player when to retire. The selectors have the right to pick the players, looking at their form, performance and fitness. We selected the players (Harbhajan and Yuvraj) looking at them for the T20 World Cup, now we are looking at the future of Indian cricket but that doesn’t mean that these names will not be considered. They will have to perform and we will be very happy if they perform and get back into the Indian side.” Is it the end or not? Go Figure.
