"How can you possibly remove him from the Test side?" - Saba Karim questions Abhimanyu Easwaran's exclusion in "perplexing" squad for WI tour
Former Indian cricketer Saba Karim was surprised not to see Abhimanyu Easwaran in India's squad for the two-Test tour of the West Indies in July-August. He criticized the selectors for removing Easwaran without giving him a chance in the playing 11, describing their decision-making as "perplexing."
One of the most consistent domestic red-ball batters, Easwaran has been around the Test team as a reserve for multiple rubbers. When India toured Bangladesh in December, he was picked in the squad after a Player of the Match performance against Bangladesh A but didn't get a game. He was dropped after the series.
Though India picked other well-performing though less-experienced batters like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal for West Indies, Abhimanyu Easwaran was ignored.
"I thought that this time the selection for the West Indies tour was quite perplexing and the thought process of the selectors I couldn't couldn't get around it as to why Sarfaraz (Khan) and Abhimanyu, both of them were not selected," Karim said in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda. "Abhimanyu Easwaran, if I'm correct, was part of the Test team on India's tour to Bangladesh... without even giving him a chance, how can you possibly remove him from the Test side?"
Recently, another former BCCI selector claimed that Abhimanyu wasn't selected because he failed to perform in knockout matches in the Ranji Trophy. Notably, Gaikwad doesn't have any notable contributions in knockout matches either.
IPL performance should be backed by some red-ball performance for Test selection: Saba Karim
Abhimanyu Easwaran's snub, alongside Test call-ups to Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer without them having enough recent Ranji Trophy experience, has only raised questions about whether IPL is now an important criterion for Test selections.
Saba Karim, who was a national selector between 2012-16, said his committee only looked at IPL mostly for T20 selections.
"We would see it only for the National T20 side but not for red-ball cricket," he said. "For red-ball cricket, if we have seen someone who has done well in red-ball cricket on the domestic level, such cricketers would get preference, and if that player continues to do well, even in the one-day domestic tournament as well as the IPL, that would give us an impression that this cricketer in time to come can become an all-format player."
"But it does not mean that one would pick a Test side on the basis of only IPL performance," he continued. "IPL performance is fine, but before that, it should have been backed by some red ball performance also."
Karim also admitted that some selections are based on a selector's gut instinct but said the squad for the West Indies tour looked bereft of a clear roadmap.
Chairperson of selection committee not a thankless job: Saba Karim
The selection issues have coincided with deeper troubles in the committee. Chairperson Chetan Sharma oversaw multiple captaincy changes for the men's team, stepped down after a controversial sting operation, and was re-instated before finishing a second tenure recently.
Since then, speculation has been rife about cricketers like Virender Sehwag being approached for the role plus debates on if the position is monetarily lucrative enough to attract big names.
"I don't think it is a thankless job," Karim said. "It is extremely rewarding. It is challenging, and it's good to be part of a system wherein you're trying to build a side. And whenever the team performs well, one feels elated, one feels so happy because one gets this impression that one is part of a process of team building, of the team winning, of the team doing well. And that is a challenge and it should be taken like that. In terms of the professional fee and the monetary thing which is involved, that depends on the BCCI, how they're looking at it."
"Now the BCCI has advertised for the chairperson's post so it should come up soon," Karim added. "Yeah, but ideally, that vacancy should be filled in as soon as possible because it is the chairperson of the selection committee who basically leads the way. And he's the one who communicates with the team management and together they kind of draw a roadmap or prepare a vision for the side."
Karim didn't name a candidate of his choice for the job but said BCCI would have enough names to interview and make the right decision.