Former India all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath reckons that MS Dhoni and other senior cricketers should play domestic cricket before getting selected in the national team. Having being dropped from the Twenty20 side recently and retired from Tests long ago, Dhoni now is a certainty in only ODI squad.
Despite being free, the former captain did not play the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy this year and will go into the three-match series in Australia next month without any match practice.
Talking about the same, as per the reports in PTI, Amarnath said, “Every individual is different but one thing I have always believed in is that if you want to play for India you have to play for your state as well. I think they (BCCI) should change this policy altogether. A lot of senior players don’t play domestic cricket.”
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Legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar had suggested the same recently as Shikhar Dhawan is another senior player who is not playing the ongoing Ranji Trophy despite being dropped from the Test team.
Describing it further, the hero of India’s World Cup triumph in 1983 said, “The BCCI should make it an eligibility criterion. Not only a number of games, but you should also be playing regularly for your state if you are not playing for India and not only just before the India selection. Then only you can judge how good the guy is playing. Whatever you have achieved is all in the past. What is important is current form.”
Talking about the ongoing four-match Test series in Australia, Amarnath said India has a formidable side but the depleted hosts are capable of giving them a run for their money even in the absence of suspended Steve Smith and David Warner.
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The legend who played 69 Tests and 85 ODIs said, “Australian cricketers think differently. It is not the first time they are going through this kind of phase. At the time of Kerry Packer series, but from what I watched in the first Test, some of the players are really good. You can’t just rule Australia out of the series. Of course, India is more superior but again they have to continue playing good cricket. First Test was a fantastic Test match from a cricketing point of view. The only difference was Cheteshwar Pujara. It shows we are here for a thrilling series with advantage India.”
Amarnath’s longtime teammate Syed Kirmani had recently said the current selection panel under the leadership of MSK Prasad was not experienced enough to challenge the decisions of captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri.
The five-member panel doesn’t have enough experience with chief Prasad having played six Tests and 17 ODIs. The other four — Sarandeep Singh (2 Tests, 5 ODIs), Devang Gandhi (4 Tests, 3 ODIs), Jatin Paranjpe (4 ODIs) and Gagan Khoda (2 ODIs) — also do not have enough experience in top-flight.
Talking about the selection committee, Amarnath said, “It is not about the experience (as a selector). You are selected to do a job because you are good enough for that. But definitely, if you are an achiever you think differently, if you are a non-achiever, definitely you cannot make decisions at times.”
