Chennai: As the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Indian squad for the forthcoming tour of Australia, former India cricketer turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar questioned Sunil Joshi headed selection committee's decision to pick KL Rahul for the four-match Test series Down Under. Manjrekar said the selection of Rahul on the basis of his IPL performance was a 'bad precedent’.
Kings XI Punjab skipper Rahul is currently the leading run-scorer in the IPL 2020 with 595 runs.
“You set a bad precedent when you recall a player for Tests on IPL performance. Especially if the player has been an abject failure in his last few Tests. Whether that player succeeds or fails is irrelevant, such selections massively demotivate Ranji players," Manjrekar said.
-
You set a bad precedent when you recall a player for Tests on IPL performance. Especially if the player has been an abject failure in his last few Tests. Whether that player succeeds or fails is irrelevant, such selections massively demotivate Ranji players. #INDvsAUS
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) October 27, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">You set a bad precedent when you recall a player for Tests on IPL performance. Especially if the player has been an abject failure in his last few Tests. Whether that player succeeds or fails is irrelevant, such selections massively demotivate Ranji players. #INDvsAUS
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) October 27, 2020You set a bad precedent when you recall a player for Tests on IPL performance. Especially if the player has been an abject failure in his last few Tests. Whether that player succeeds or fails is irrelevant, such selections massively demotivate Ranji players. #INDvsAUS
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) October 27, 2020
However, former India cricketer and senior selection committee chairman Kris Srikkanth lambasted Manjrekar for his remark on Rahul's inclusion in the Test squad and said the latter cannot 'think beyond Bombay'.
“Leave Sanjay Manjrekar alone, he doesn’t have any other job,” Srikkanth said in his YouTube channel Cheeky Cheeka. “Questioning KL Rahul’s selection in Tests? He has played well in Tests. I won’t agree at all. Just because Sanjay wants to question something, I don’t think I’ll agree. You shouldn’t question something just to create a controversy. KL Rahul has done brilliantly in all formats. Go through his Test record," he added.
“What Sanjay Manjrekar is talking is all rubbish. I’ll not agree.”
-
KL Rahul in his last 5 Test series
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) October 27, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
- v SA - Avg 7.1
- v Eng - Avg 29
- v WI at home - Avg 18
- v Aus - Avg 10.7
- v WI - Avg 25.4
I say very lucky to get a recall based on IPL & white ball performance. But now let’s just hope he makes the most of this chance. Good luck to him! https://t.co/YBVbeut5jH
">KL Rahul in his last 5 Test series
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) October 27, 2020
- v SA - Avg 7.1
- v Eng - Avg 29
- v WI at home - Avg 18
- v Aus - Avg 10.7
- v WI - Avg 25.4
I say very lucky to get a recall based on IPL & white ball performance. But now let’s just hope he makes the most of this chance. Good luck to him! https://t.co/YBVbeut5jHKL Rahul in his last 5 Test series
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) October 27, 2020
- v SA - Avg 7.1
- v Eng - Avg 29
- v WI at home - Avg 18
- v Aus - Avg 10.7
- v WI - Avg 25.4
I say very lucky to get a recall based on IPL & white ball performance. But now let’s just hope he makes the most of this chance. Good luck to him! https://t.co/YBVbeut5jH
“He might have been inconsistent but the same KL Rahul made his debut in Australia and made a century. He’s a good player of fast bowling. Let’s understand, he’s a very good player of fast bowling,” he said.
“Sanjay Manjrekar cannot think beyond Bombay. That’s the problem. We are talking neutral. Manjrekar cannot think beyond Bombay. For people like Manjrekar, everything is Bombay, Bombay and Bombay. They have to think beyond Bombay.”
“I’ve seen a lot of people, Harsha Bhogle doesn’t know anything except Bombay. Problem is that they’re not neutral. We are talking about Suryakumar Yadav’s inclusion (in the limited-overs squads), am I talking about DK (Dinesh Karthik) and Ashwin (players from Srikkanth’s home state Tamil Nadu)? We’re not fighting for DK and Ashwin.”
