Senior India batter Ajinkya Rahane dropped a bombshell recently after suggesting that current cricketers, who are either part of the Indian team or on the fringes, are “scared of selectors”. The former India captain also opined that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should select only recently-retired players to the national selection committee as such individuals are more likely to understand the demands of the modern game.
Though not directly mentioned in his comment, Rahane’s statement comes at a time when Agarkar – who has been heading the selection committee since July 2023 – and head coach Gautam Gambhir have been dominating headlines in recent months for some of their decisions, including stripping Rohit Sharma of ODI captaincy and handing the responsibility to Test captain Shubman Gill.
Rahane bats for selectors who understand modern cricket
“Players should not be scared of selectors. I want to talk about selectors, especially in domestic cricket. We should have selectors who have retired recently from playing top-flight cricket, those who have retired five-six years, seven-eight years ago,” Rahane told former India teammate Cheteshwar Pujara on YouTube.
“Because the way cricket is evolving, I think it’s very important that the mentality and mindset of the selectors match that and keep pace with the change. The game is evolving.
“We don’t want to make decisions based on how cricket was played 20-30 years ago. With formats like T20 and the IPL, it’s important to understand the style of modern cricket players. I believe selectors should, wherever possible, be individuals from all states, and players should be on the ground playing with freedom, playing fearless cricket,” he added.
Those applying for the position of a selector in a state association requires a minimum of 10 First-Class appearances and at least five years since retirement.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe corresponding requirements for those applying for the senior selection committee at the BCCI are either seven Tests or 30 First-Class matches, or 10 ODIs and 20 First-Class matches. As is the case with domestic selectors, they are also required to have retired from the sport at least five years ago.
Pujara offers his take on selector qualifications
Pujara, who had succeeded the legendary Rahul Dravid as India’s Test No 3 and had announced his retirement from international cricket in August, largely agreed with his long-time teammate but added that ex-players from older generations should not be entirely ignored.
“In big states, this can be implemented because they have so many options. So, wherever possible, I do agree that it can be implemented, but that does mean that any past cricketer, who has got a great record and wants to be a selector now, should be deprived of the chance because he retired long back,” the Saurashtra cricketer said in response.