Weeks after Mohammed Shami called out lack of communication between players and the selection committee, another India veteran has highlighted a similar plight. Shami after his white-ball snub from the Australia tour didn't mince his words pointing fingers at the selectors on questions over his fitness.
The latest player to join this trend is Ajinkya Rahane, who hit a resolute 159 in the rain-affected Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy match between Mumbai and Chhattisgarh on Sunday. Rahane, who led a second string Indian unit to a historic Test series win Down Under, expressed that he should have been part of the latest touring party that played in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. India lost the series 1-3, which also cost them a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final eventually played between Australia and South Africa.
“I thought an experienced player like me should get more chances. And there was no communication. I can focus on only the controllable things which I am doing right now. But as I said, the Indian team needed me in Australia and I was fully ready for it,” he was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
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In order to justify his point, Rahane pointed at the recent efforts of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The senior pros, who have now retired from T20Is and Tests, combined to produce a match-winning partnership in the third and final ODI in Sydney, which India won by nine wickets. If we look at the series overall, India lost 1-2, but Rohit amassed 202 runs from three innings to finish as the leading run-scorer and was named as the Player of the Series. Kohli, on the other hand after successive ducks, scored an unbeaten 71, which also saw him become the second highest run-scorer in ODIs. He overtook Kumar Sangakkara and is only behind Sachin Tendulkar in the elite list.
“When you have guys like Rohit and Virat, who have won so many matches for India especially in white ball cricket, you need that experience in the team. You cannot go with all newcomers, or the young ones in the team. Young blood is important, but if you have experience, the team will do well. It is especially the case in red ball cricket. I was really happy to see Rohit getting that 100,” he said.
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