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It is time BCCI declared criteria

Performances have to be rewarded at the right time, writes Makarand Waingankar

There is no explanation for selection whims. It’s one area of the game that remains muddled over the years.

Overall, Krishnamachari Srikkanth’s selection committee has done a commendable job for the past one year except for the selection of one unheard Ravi Inder Singh who was picked for the Challenger Trophy ahead of Ravindra Jadeja.

Selection records show that such goof-ups have happened all the time. The latest in the series of illogical selection — dropping Robin Uthappa, who was the ‘man of the series’ for the Challenger Trophy and a heavy scorer of the Ranji and Duleep Trophy and also of Irfan Pathan — has raised several eyebrows.

What more do they need to do to prove themselves, is something they might be reflecting on. Is there any justification — the selectors will struggle to answer this especially when some mediocre non-performing names are seen in the list of probables for the Champions Trophy. Uthappa’s name is missing from the team for the Emerging Players tournament too. Is Badrinath, who is nearing 30 your emerging player?

How does Virat Kohli, whom Royal Challengers’ coach Rey Jennings described as one who behaves as if he owns the game, gets the privilege of being vice-captain when Uthappa being the State captain could have been the ideal choice?

Uthappa may have failed in the T20 IPL but Champions Trophy being a 50 overs game, his performances in the Challenger Trophy and inter-State one-day matches ought to have been considered.

Irfan’s omission

If Irfan Pathan, who was good enough to be in the Indian team for the T20 World Championship, does not find a place in this list then there is something wrong with the cricketing mantra that the five wise men may have discussed.

Both Uthappa and Irfan Pathan are young potential players who should be on the radar of the selectors, but by dropping them from the list of 30 the selectors have definitely demoralised them.

It is time the BCCI declares criteria in terms of minimum strike rate, economy rate, average of players while picking the list of probables. If we apply these criteria some of the players picked will be out of the list.

Many selectors in India use the word ‘talent’ very liberally. Ed Smith, the former England player and an excellent writer in his book What Sports Tells Us About Life, says that talent is a raw mineral that is mined at birth. It’s a God’ gift. He is right. But he says talent plus performance is what the selectors should be looking for.

Uthappa and Pathan are in that category. The mindset of such players is not as strong as one thinks. Such players if not handled with care can go off the track and we can lose good players.

One expected the selectors to pick talented performers like Mandeep Singh and Mayank Aggarwal for the Emerging Players tournament because they had performed brilliantly in the recent tour of India under-19 to Australia.

Performances have to be rewarded at the right time. One is not too sure whether getting Dravid back is the right move.

The solution is to rectify the fault and not provide a fall-back in the form of an experienced batsman.

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