New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced team’s squad for the upcoming home series against New Zealand and the T20
World Cup 2026. Among the biggest inclusions, Ishan Kishan’s comeback became the talking point for the entire cricketing community as the left-hander was included in the national setup after a gap of two years.
Speaking on the ‘Follow The Blues’, JioStar expert and former Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar bluntly said that domestic performances should be must for selection criteria and not only the IPL. Gavaskar was indicating towards Ishan’s selection in the T20 World Cup squad which came on back of his recent superlative performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where he was the highest run-scorer.
While he did not do much in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the cash-rich tournament did not turn out to be fruitful for him but his domestic prowess helped him earn a long-deserving place in the national side.
Gavaskar favours domestic over IPL
The legendary cricketer on the show said that it should be pivotal for players to perform at the domestic level and earn national calls non basis of that and not just the cash-attractive league. He further said that he feels very happy for Ishan who has been out of the team for almost two years and made a fantastic comeback on back of his SMAT heroics.
‘When you see someone performing, you pick him. Ishan Kishan has already been in the side and shown he can do it. That is a big plus. His current form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy proves that domestic cricket performance must be the selection criteria, not just the IPL. I am very happy for him. He was out of the team for a couple of years but made a fantastic comeback by leading his state team Jharkhand to a title winning season.’
At the same time, Gavaskar expressed surprise on the omission on Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma from the Indian team.
