Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has come down heavily on the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee who ignored Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi for the upcoming one-off Test against Afghanistan.
He called out Nabi’s exclusion as “ridiculous”, and said if a bowler who picked 60 wickets in a single Ranji Trophy season and not get picked then the BCCI should do away with the elite domestic cricket tournament of the country. After the squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan was announced, former India chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar had also called for the scrapping of the Ranji Trophy if players’ performances are not rewarded with a national call up.
“I used to like the golden days when tremendous injustice was done. People would come out on the streets with placards and protests. Now the outcry is mostly on social media, but this is one non-selection that I just can’t understand. It’s actually ridiculous. When Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are not playing, whether because they are being rested or for long-term planning, then you might as well not have the Ranji Trophy if performances like these are going to be ignored,” said Manjrekar on Sportstar’s Insight Edge Podcast.
Nabi won the Ranji Trophy ‘Player of the Tournament’ after J&K won their maiden title. Manjrekar says Nabi’s exclusion makes no sense when frontline pacers like Bumrah, Siraj and Shami are not in the squad.
“It was an incredible story for Indian cricket, Jammu and Kashmir winning the Ranji Trophy, and this was the guy who almost single-handedly got them to the title. It was a no-brainer, and it’s really sad that he isn’t there. I can understand if the seam-bowling spots were taken by Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj and Shami, and Nabi couldn’t find a place. But this is beyond me. It’s not a good cricketing decision because when you compare his record with some of the others in the squad, tremendous injustice has been done,” he added.
