An open letter to Indian selectors

Dear Selectors,

Let me first tell you this is not a letter where I am going to criticize you or question your authority. I am only going to give you my suggestions because as a fan, I am genuinely concerned about our insipid performances both at home and abroad. Here are my concerns and possible alternatives:

1) Batsman treated like permanent employees and bowlers treated like they are hired on a contract basis.

This has been my main concern. Our batsmen have, time and again, let us down and we have not seen any hard decisions taken against them. We have had questions raised about our opening pair. While Sehwag-Gambhir combination has been good in the past, they are currently both struggling to get their act together. We have seen their pathetic batting display overseas in both England and Australia as they failed miserably, while not playing on flat tracks. Yet, what was done? Nothing.

The number six conundrum has continued to haunt our batting lineup. We have seen the game of musical chairs being played for that position. In England, Suresh Raina batted at that position for three Tests. During the tour of Australia, Virat Kohli batted at that position. After Laxman and Dravid retired, the number six batting position was taken again by Raina against New Zealand at home. And now, we see Yuvraj Singh at that position but he hardly looks convincing. Unless and until we stop juggling players every other series for that specific batting position, the batting lineup is not going to prosper. It is impossible for the top four or five to bail out India on a consistent basis.

Life is tough for bowlers. No bowler seems to get a consistent run in the team apart from Zaheer Khan and R Ashwin. The fast bowlers come and go every other series. They vanish from the national scene and are lost in wilderness. Where is Sudeep Tyagi, Praveen Kumar, or RP Singh? The life is tough for fast bowlers. Spinners like Amit Mishra and Rahul Sharma might as well accept their fate – that of playing only domestic games. Kindly tell me why are there different yardsticks for different bowlers in India?

2) Fringe players: When are they going to make it to the team?

Bowling: Here’s a trivia for you. What is common between Ranadeb Bose, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pankaj Singh and now Ashoke Dinda? Dear five-wise men, these fast bowlers have been travellers with the team on various tours. The first three bowlers are already lost in wilderness and Dinda might join them as well. What should a young bowler do when they see the senior bowlers not setting a right precedence for them? To be honest, Dinda is one of the fittest fast bowlers in the country now. He has a strong arm and has been a successful bowler for Bengal for many seasons now. How can you justify having non-performers in the team and still not giving Dinda a chance?

Batting: Manoj Tiwary has been with the team for a long long time. He was warming the benches in the Asia Cup and subsequent One Day tours while Rohit Sharma continuously struggled. The team management has given Tiwary limited chances, but he is still fighting. Tiwary has shown the right temperament at the first-class level and also when he has donned the India colours. Yet, he remains on the sidelines.

Ajinkya Rahane impressed one and all with his technique, when India toured England in 2011. He batted bravely against the England bowlers, who tormented the Indian batsmen during the whole tour. He was a rare shining ray of hope for India amid darkness. Rahane continues to pile on the runs for Mumbai, West-Zone, the Rest of India and also Rajasthan Royals (if that format is considered as a shortcut to the national team). You name the format and Rahane has batted better than most of the senior established batsmen of the Indian team. Yet, what have you done to award him? Nothing. He continues to miss the format he is believed to excel in – the Test matches.

3) The comeback men

I often wonder if you are afraid to bring the performing youngsters in the mix of things. When the third spinner was to be picked against England this time around (in the home series), we went back to Harbhajan Singh. Now what has he done to be in the team? You could argue that which bowler has the class to challenge Harbhajan? My point is, why should an emerging spin bowler have to fight against Harbhajan’s legacy? Currently, Bhajji is struggling to get wickets even for Punjab. What makes you think that he will get heaps of wickets against England?

S Badrinath was picked against New Zealand as a potential number six batsman. He was not picked for any of the Tests, and was dropped against England. What is the logic behind this move? Is there any justification you people can give for such a callous attitude towards the domestic run-machine? Lot of people argue that Badrinath is in his thirties and might not succeed at the International level – but he hasn’t been given enough chances to be said that he is not good enough.

4) The timing of the brave decisions

There will come a time when you have to take brave decisions. But can you can’t take a brave decision before the team suffers defeats. Why did it take an English-disaster to introduce Rahane into the mix? Take the brave decisions before it is too late. Mohinder Amarnath had called selectors “a bunch of jokers” in 1988.

I still believe you people are five-wise men. But if you act after the catastrophe, maybe then Amarnath’s statement can be used on you too.

Thanking You.

Warm Regards,

A concerned Indian fan