Indian selectors' decisions for the Australian tour raise more question than answers

A couple of weeks ago, when India's team for the T20 series vs West Indies and for the tour to Australia was announced, there were shock waves in the cricketing fraternity. Former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's exclusion from the squad caught everyone's attention, and quite naturally, it became a hot talking point.

However, with the World T20 approaching in 2020, it made sense for India to start looking for new options instead of a 37-year-old. With his spot in the 50 over team still safe as the 50-over World Cup is closing in, nothing major had really changed for India in this regard.

However, there were a few other selections that should raise eyebrows.

The recall of Murali Vijay is one that perplexes the most. It was only a couple of months ago that the veteran opener was removed from the squad after the third Test in England; Vijay had a miserable time there as he scored only 26 runs in four innings.

Following a poor show in South Africa and an unimpressive record over the last couple of years in Test cricket, few had complained about his ouster from the team. However, if the plan was always to take him to Australia, why was he not picked for the home series vs West Indies? Why was he not given the chance to regain his confidence against a relatively weak bowling attack in home conditions?

While Vijay's experience and past record in Australia might convince some of his inclusion, the bigger question is the exclusion of Mayank Agarwal. For the last couple of years, the Karnataka opener has piled a truckload of runs in domestic cricket. Not only has he got runs for his state side, but he has also performed well for India A across all formats.

His inclusion in the team for the Test series against West Indies was a welcome relief for a lot of cricket fans across the country. However, without getting a chance to make his debut, he lost his place in the squad for the tour of Australia.

This is a decision that is tough to make sense of, especially for a player who had to wait so long to get a call-up. Even in the ongoing game between India A and New Zealand A, Agarwal played an impressive knock of 65. On the other hand, Vijay only managed a score of 28.

This leads us to an extremely similar case of another Karnataka batsman, Karun Nair. India's second triple centurion got a recall to the Test team for the tour to England and the home match vs Afghanistan. However, despite not playing any of the six Tests, Nair did not find a place in the team against West Indies or Australia.

In the 5th Test against England at The Oval, India fielded Hanuman Vihari, who was only called into the team after the third Test despite Nair being in the side since the start of the tour. While Vihari's inclusion in the side with a first-class average of 60 is richly deserved, you would expect the player who was in the team originally to get a chance first.

If Nair was never favored to play, why was he taken to England in the first place? That is something that most cricket experts failed to comprehend.

Another player who has now overtaken Nair in the pecking order is Rohit Sharma. Quite interestingly, Rohit was the player whose place Nair took in the team.

While Rohit is without a doubt one of the best limited overs players in the world, his Test record is nowhere as good. The Mumbaikar has repeatedly failed in the longer format, especially outside the subcontinent.

While there is no harm in giving a player of his ability another chance, the question that arises is whether has he done anything to earn the recall. Without a doubt, Rohit's form in the shorter formats is nothing short of astonishing. But is that the correct criterion for selection for Test cricket.?

Since he was dropped in South Africa, Rohit has not played a single game of red-ball cricket. Despite the questions on his comeback, it is worth remembering that Murali Vijay did at least play county cricket, and scored some runs to prove his worth.

This is not the first time in the last couple of years that the decisions taken by the selection committee have raised alarm bells. There have been far too many instances of players being unfairly dropped across formats.

Both the selection committee and the team management need to have a long hard look at the issue, and it's high time the BCCI takes note of the inconsistencies. For any team to achieve its full potential, a consistent and fair selection policy is the biggest requirement.