With the Indian cricket resuming its cricketing calendar with Asia Cup 2024 victory followed by a 2-0 triumph over West Indies, the action now shifts to the white-ball series against Australia. Just days
prior to the Australia series, the Indian cricket team on Wednesday, October 15 left for Perth, where they will play the first ODI on October 19. Amidst this, Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane, who has been ousted from the Indian setup, dropped bombshell.
Speaking with former Indian cricketer Chesteshwar Pujara on his YouTube channel, Rahane sparked major debate with his views on the selection committee and their relation with the players. Rahane remains of the opinion that the appointment of selectors, particularly at the domestic level needs to be reformed.
Important that the mentality and mindset of the selectors match with players: Rahane believes
Speaking with Pujara on YouTube, Rahane began, "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." "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,” he continued.
"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," he added. Rahane's candid admission of players being scared of the selectors has touched a nerve. "I believe selectors should, wherever possible, be individuals from all states, and players should be on the ground playing with freedom, playing fearless cricket," Rahane added.
Watch Ajinkya Rahane's strong admission around selectors:
Moreover, Pujara was in sync with Rahane that performances in domestic cricket must continue to form the backbone of selection for the Indian Test team. "I strongly believe that those who want to play Test cricket should play domestic cricket first. And everyone plays it. And it is also important to perform well in it,” Pujara said.
