30

May

CRICKET : IS POLITICS COLOURING  SELECTIONS?

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Anil Jauhri

New Delhi | Saturday | May 30, 2026

India’s next international cricket assignment is one Test and 3 one dayers against Afghanistan at home.
The teams have been announced by BCCI and there is one selection – or omission to be more precise – which has drawn universal condemnation – that of Auqib Nabi Dar, a young fast medium bowler form J&K who topped the last Ranji season with a commendable 60 wickets. 
Once the selectors decided to rest frontline bowlers like Bumrah, and rightly so, Auqib should have been in. He is not and the chief of selectors has not given any justification for this omission. If domestic performances would not be rewarded, especially against a lower ranked side, that too in an international which is not going to count towards World Test Championship, when would they be?
When the selectors look at cricketers beyond the established players, one expects them to look at domestic performances. India's pace attack is currently well staffed as far as Test cricket is concerned with Bumrah, Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, and Harshit Rana even though the last three should still be considered under scrutiny and not yet proven performers. 
When the time came to give a chance to couple of youngsters while resting Bumrah or due to injuries to some like Rana or Akash Deep, should it not have been the star of last Ranji season - Auqib Nabi? 
Not only that. There is another omission which is inexplicable. That of Mohammed Shami. The explanation given by the chief selector for continued omission of Shami - that they were told Shami is fit only for T20 cricket is both evasive and a lie. 
Who is telling them? Why is the chief selector or Indian coach not talking to Shami directly? Does he not deserve such courtesy, given the yeoman service he has rendered to India,?
How is his fitness in doubt when he has diligently played in all formats in the last domestic season and in fact ranks 6th among all bowlers with 37 wickets in the Ranji Trophy. How are the selectors unaware of these publicly available facts?
The above when read with the continuing neglect of Sarfaraz Khan makes one wonder if national politics is colouring cricket selections.
Sarfaraz was in the squad to Australia in 2024-25 riding on an outstanding domestic record but when the need arose for a middle order batter as our batting faltered, Padikkal was brought in from outside the chosen squad without any explanation. Sarfaraz was then left out of the side for England last summer while Sai Sudharsan was selected more based on his T20 performance. And predictably he struggled. Not only that, in the home series last season against the West Indies and South Africa, the selectors experimented with Sudharsan, Sundar, Pant and even Jurel as a batter in the middle order and none really worked. In contrast, Sarfaraz's last 10 Test innings at home contain 3 fifties against England and a massive 150 against New Zealand through the year 2024 and yet he did not get a look in last season. This defies explanation.

India has had a history of politicians occupying key positions in the BCCI like NKP Salve, Sharad Pawar and Arun Jaitley. One cannot recall that it had any discernible political influence in selection of Indian cricket teams over the years.
However, the current scenario has a crucial difference. India for the first time has a coach who has been an active politician with clear ideological leanings. Add to it the possibility of unseen hands, which seem to be influencing choices across sectors like media, academics, and even constitutional positions, having a say here too. 
Is it then too much to read politics in the above cases?
Before someone cites Siraj, one may add that exception may only prove a rule. And even he has been a bit in and out!!
What about other selections?
The biggest surprise in Test squad, apart from omission of Aquib, is demotion of Pant as vice captain which tends to indicate selectors do not consider him a certainty for Tests anymore. That may also explain having a back up wicket keeper in Jurel in even a one Test series. The new vice captain, Rahul, is not really new having been vice captain and even captain earlier and who could have been successor to Rohit Sharma as captain in all form ats had he been consistent. He obviously is a certainty as an opener going forward along with Jaiswal. One selection which may be strange is that of Nitish Reddy given in home conditions we are hardly likely to go in with a pace all rounder besides two frontline pacers. The look in given to youngsters like Harsh Dubey and Suthar is to be welcomed.
The one day squad includes Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli though one wonders if they could have been rested to give some youngsters a chance. In any case, Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who scored one day hundreds in homes series against South Africa in 2025, ought to have been in. One could also ask if there is place for both Hardik Pandya and Nishith Reddy in home conditions. The selection of youngsters like Prince Yadav, Harsh Dubey and Gurnoor Brar is welcome as seniors like Bumrah, Jadeja and Axar are rested.
As has been observed in the past, India has such riches of talent that even if selectors blunder in a case or two or leave out deserving players in the white ball format, the team is still quite formidable and capable of winning. The Test record at home, on the other hand, is alarming with defeats against New Zealand and Sout Africa in recent times and bad selections can cost us heavily.
The case for merit based selections can not therefore be overstated.
 

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