Former Indian opener turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has said that the need to change the basis of player selection in Test cricket after a poor 2-0 series defeat to South Africa. He also feels players are fast-tracked into Test cricket, stating how the likes of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Dhruv Jurel were given opportunities without playing a lot in domestic cricket as well.

Speaking in the recent video on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “If we look at the players who made their Test debut in recent years, Yashasvi Jaiswal had played 15 first-class games before making his first red-ball appearance for India. Shubman Gill had played around 20-22 matches. Sai Sudharsan (29) had played only for a limited number of games, while Nitish Kumar Reddy had featured in even lesser (23). Dhruv Jurel (15) and Devdutt Padikkal (31) too. Among these, Padikkal has been the best performer but he is not getting as many opportunities. But most of them have been given opportunities on potential, promise and their white-ball or IPL exploits.”

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He further added, “Some players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill are ready for the big stage. But can everyone turn out to be like that? Some people can still flourish, they can turn out to be like Jaiswal and Gill. But you will realize that even they took time to find their feet, especially in tricky batting conditions. They are exceptions but are they fully ready? If you give players the time to do well in first-class cricket and do well for 3-4 seasons consecutively, they come well prepared. If not and the pressure mounts at the Test level, they don’t know what to do. It’s not their fault as they is not ready. Why can’t you understand they are not ready?”

Aakash Chopra also warned the selectors that selecting players consistently into the Test team without much first-class experience can actually backfire them as well.

“When you want to give someone a Test cap, please let them play 2-3 seasons and score runs or take wickets consistently in first-class cricket. Then take the decision to play them. There will be a player who will come once in a while and he can be fast tracked into Test cricket. If done that way consistently, the transition will only get tougher and tougher. If a player scores runs or takes wickets consistently, 7-8 players out of 10 should be given an opportunity in Test cricket,” Aakash Chopra concluded.