All posts tagged: Selectors

Selectors take tough call: Surya’s T20 exit like Virat, Rohit’s Test departure | Cricket News

Selectors take tough call: Surya’s T20 exit like Virat, Rohit’s Test departure | Cricket News

4 min readUpdated: Jun 3, 2026 10:53 PM IST Just three months after Suryakumar Yadav captained India to the T20 World Cup title in Ahmedabad, the 35-year-old has not only been removed as captain but is also unlikely to find a place in the squad when the selectors meet next. Though the decision may raise eyebrows, it goes with this selection committee’s trend of not letting things drift or shying away from making tough calls. Of late, Suryakumar has been in the middle of a slump. In the IPL, he managed just 10 sixes in 13 innings and was overshadowed by the young guns in terms of boundaries and strike rates. Even before the T20 World Cup at home earlier this year, Suryakumar was struggling to find big scores before he hit three fifties in the series against New Zealand to turn a corner. His batting during the World Cup was nothing to write home about. Even Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were not spared when form deserted them. After the series loss in Australia …

Sachin Tendulkar wants Sooryavanshi in Tests but ‘leave that to the selectors’ | Cricket News

Sachin Tendulkar wants Sooryavanshi in Tests but ‘leave that to the selectors’ | Cricket News

3 min readMay 31, 2026 11:55 AM IST Sachin Tendulkar has said that he, like many others, would love to see Rajasthan Royals’ teenaged wonder Vaibhav Sooryavanshi play Test cricket but warned against rushing him into it. Sooryavanshi has pretty much rewritten the parameters of a good innings in a sensational season in the 2026 Indian Premier League, finishing with 776 runs in 16 innings at a scarcely believable strike rate of 237.30 and average of 48.50 with one century and five half-centuries. The 15-year-old will win the Orange Cap unless Shubman Gill or Sai Sudharsan overtake him in the final on Sunday. Both will have to score half-centuries to get there. Tendulkar said that he would want Sooryavanshi to not be put under any pressure whenever he plays Test cricket as this can interfere with whatever it is that contributed to his success thus far. “I would tell him to just be himself,” said Tendulkar at the Cricinfo Honours. “There is always a first time. In Test cricket, along with age, he will learn …

Ajit Agarkar slammed for disrespecting Mohammed Shami: ‘Would you treat Bumrah the same way?’

Ajit Agarkar slammed for disrespecting Mohammed Shami: ‘Would you treat Bumrah the same way?’

Mohammed Shami’s omission from India’s squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan feels like a strong indication that the selectors have moved on from the veteran pacer. The experienced fast bowler last represented India during the Champions Trophy last year and has since been working hard to regain full match fitness. Shami even returned to domestic cricket, featuring in the Ranji Trophy in an attempt to push his case for a comeback in the red-ball setup, but the call-up never arrived. Ajit Agarkar faces backlash for fitness explanation behind Mohammed Shami snub. (PTI Images) With India now focusing heavily on building a younger core across formats, opportunities for senior players appear to be shrinking rapidly. The team management’s current approach clearly points to long-term planning, especially in white-ball cricket, where several young names are consistently backed. Given the direction Indian cricket is heading in, it now seems increasingly difficult for Shami to find a place in the national side again, regardless of the format. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar made it clear that fitness concerns played …

Sourav Ganguly saved Rahul Dravid’s ODI career by going against BCCI selectors: ‘It could have finished him’

Sourav Ganguly saved Rahul Dravid’s ODI career by going against BCCI selectors: ‘It could have finished him’

Sourav Ganguly’s latest comments on Rahul Dravid offer more than a nostalgic anecdote. They reopened one of the most consequential tactical decisions in Indian cricket, a move that helped preserve Dravid’s ODI career while reshaping the team structure ahead of the 2003 World Cup. Sourav Ganguly spoke about his decision to use Rahul Dravid as a wicketkeeper in ODIs. (PTI, X images) Speaking on Raj Shamani’s podcast, Ganguly reflected on his leadership philosophy of publicly backing players while privately addressing hard truths. The example he chose was Dravid. “There was a phase when Rahul Dravid was getting picked in ODIs. But people used to say his strike rate was not good enough. Selectors would say maybe someone else needed to be picked. But I did not leave him, because if I had left him, it could have finished him,” Ganguly said. That recollection points directly to the early 2000s, when Dravid’s place in India’s ODI side was under genuine scrutiny. By then, Dravid was already one of India’s most respected batters, but ODI cricket was …

Sourav Ganguly urges India selectors to bring Mohammed Shami back: ‘He looks fit and sharp’ | Cricket News

Sourav Ganguly urges India selectors to bring Mohammed Shami back: ‘He looks fit and sharp’ | Cricket News

3 min readUpdated: Apr 8, 2026 08:21 PM IST Mohammed Shami seems to have carried forward the form he showed in domestic cricket into the Indian Premier League (IPL), with his early performances this season for the Lucknow Super Giants turning quite a few heads. Shami Shami boasts an economy of just 4.62 in the two matches that he has played for LSG thus far and has taken three wickets. He played a pivotal role in LSG’s first win of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has said that his performances show that Shami deserves to be called back to the Indian team. “He should be bowling at the other end of (Jasprit) Bumrah, nowhere else. That’s how good he is. We all saw that spell the other night against Sunrisers Hyderabad — four overs, nine runs against two of the best T20 players, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. That was phenomenal,” Ganguly is quoted as saying by PTI. Shami was adjudged Player of the Match in the game against SRH …

IPL | Dale Steyn on RR’s Tushar Deshpande after last over heroics vs GT: ‘This bowling performance will ensure Indian selectors don’t take their eyes off him’ | Cricket News

IPL | Dale Steyn on RR’s Tushar Deshpande after last over heroics vs GT: ‘This bowling performance will ensure Indian selectors don’t take their eyes off him’ | Cricket News

3 min readUpdated: Apr 5, 2026 06:01 PM IST Former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn had high praise for Rajasthan Royals bowler Tushar Deshpande who defended 11 runs in the last over in Gujarat Titans’ chase on Saturday, saying that the Indian selectors will have a close eye on the pacer in the IPL. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO “The final over bowled by Tushar Deshpande was exceptional. He executed his yorkers perfectly under pressure, did not give any chances to a player like Rashid Khan to find the boundary and he ensured his team did not suffer any hiccups in the final over of a 200-plus run chase. It is very difficult for a bowler to stay calm in such a high-pressure situation because a lot of things go through your mind. But, to ensure your plans are executed perfectly without feeling the pressure is a rare skill,” Steyn said on Star Sports. “Tushar bowled four inch-perfect yorkers, then he changed his line and delivered the length ball and by doing that, he baited Rashid …

‘You benched them using the excuse of surgery’: Shahid Afridi slams Pakistan selectors for dropping experienced ODI players for Bangladesh series | Cricket News

‘You benched them using the excuse of surgery’: Shahid Afridi slams Pakistan selectors for dropping experienced ODI players for Bangladesh series | Cricket News

3 min readUpdated: Mar 16, 2026 05:25 PM IST Shahid Afridi lambasted Pakistan selectors after the team fell to a 2-1 defeat to Bangladesh in the recently concluded ODI series on Sunday. The former Pakistan batter said that the selectors had dropped experienced ODI players due to their ordinary performance at the T20 World Cup and made a big mistake in giving new and inexperienced players the chance in these important series. “We lost the Bangladesh series 2-1. I am disappointed with the selection committee. You guys at the selection committee have played so much cricket and you still have no idea about who should captain in what format. You just take decisions. With the excuse of surgery, you pick new players who have just played a few first class matches. The domestic system is not even of the standard that players can come up from there and make a place for themselves in the Pakistan team,” he said in a video on his X account. “The seniors who didn’t perform well in the T20 …

Shahid Afridi blasts selectors over Shaheen captaincy call after Bangladesh defeat: Real surgery should be on committee

Shahid Afridi blasts selectors over Shaheen captaincy call after Bangladesh defeat: Real surgery should be on committee

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi on Monday launched a scathing attack on the country’s selection committee, holding them directly responsible for the humiliating 2–1 ODI series defeat to Bangladesh on Sunday in Dhaka. Afridi not only questioned the Pakistan Cricket Board‘s decision to hand the ODI captaincy to his son-in-law Shaheen Afridi but also said he found little logic in the removal of Babar Azam from the squad following his underwhelming show in the T20 World Cup. Pakistan lost 1-2 against Bangladesh in ODIs Pakistan’s struggles in international cricket continued as the team, after failing to reach the semifinals of the T20 World Cup earlier this month, went on to lose the ODI series against Bangladesh. ALSO READ: Fee paid to Pakistani cricketers contributes to Indian deaths: Gavaskar fumes at blood money spent by Sunrisers Leeds Speaking in a video posted on his social media account, Afridi blamed the selectors and their questionable decisions for Pakistan’s disastrous run in 2026, including the call to appoint Shaheen as ODI captain. “You saw the performances in the …

‘Most baffling non-selection I can remember’: Mark Waugh slams selectors over Steve Smith’s T20 World Cup snub | Cricket News

‘Most baffling non-selection I can remember’: Mark Waugh slams selectors over Steve Smith’s T20 World Cup snub | Cricket News

2 min readFeb 17, 2026 12:02 PM IST Former Australian batter Mark Waugh has slammed the selectors for not selecting batting talisman Steve Smith in the initial squad, adding that the whole T20 World Cup campaign seemed ‘doomed’ based on the players picked for the tournament. Australia’s qualification will depend on the results of other teams, following their eight-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in Kandy on Monday. They will have their eyes on the Zimbabwe versus Ireland clash on Tuesday, and if the former beats the latter, then Australia will be knocked out of contention to qualify for the Super 8. “I know you can’t please everybody, and sometimes there are tough calls that can go either way, but to me, the non-selection of Steve Smith in the squad originally is the most baffling non-selection I can remember for ages. I mean, here you’ve got a guy who has looked a class above everybody in the BBL.” “I think that the whole campaign was doomed from the get-go with selection issues and injuries,” Waugh told …

Former India pacer credits selectors for rewarding domestic performance

Former India pacer credits selectors for rewarding domestic performance

2 min readFeb 1, 2026 04:40 PM IST Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has credited Indian selectors for taking the harsh call of not picking Shubman Gill and rewarding the domestic performances of Ishan Kishan. The left-hander was a part of the five T20I matches against New Zealand ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup and scored a swashbuckling hundred in the fifth match on Saturday. Kishan made a comeback into the Indian team fold after being out for two years. He had topped the run-scoring charts at the 2025-26 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. “The selectors deserve credit for bringing back Ishan Kishan on the back of his domestic performances. They deserve credit because it’s not easy because you drop a player like Shubman Gill and then you draft Kishan, who performed in domestic cricket. He took advantage of that chance and made it count. “When these things happen, everything went right for Kishan and selectors deserve equal credit. The way Kishan batted, especially hitting Ish Sodhi for 29 runs in an …