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Former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly is not happy with the decision to hand Test vice captaincy to Ajinkya Rahane after his 18-month hiatus. Rahane returned to the Test squad for World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final after Shreyas Iyer got injured. Against Australia, he proved his mettle with scores of 89 and 46 at the Oval and was immediately rewarded with vice-captaincy.
When asked about whether Shubman Gill should have been groomed for the role, Ganguly agreed. Ganguly doesn't feel that the call about Rahane is a step backward. However, he questioned the trust showed in Rahane after just one game.
"I won't say it's a step backward. You have been out for 18 months, then you play a Test and you become a vice-captain. I don't understand the thought process behind it. There is Ravindra Jadeja, who has been there for a long time and a certainty in Test matches, he is a candidate."
"....but to just come back and straightway become vice-captain after 18 months, I don't understand. My only thing is that selection shouldn't be hot and cold. There has to be continuity and consistency in selection," Ganguly, one of India's finest Test captains, Ganguly told PTI.
Clear communication with Pujara
Apart from making Rahane the vice-captain, Cheteshwar Pujara was dropped from the squad for two-Test series against West Indies next month which will be a part of WTC 2023-25 cycle.
"Selectors should have a clear idea about him (Pujara). Do they need him to play Test cricket anymore or do they want to continue with youngsters and communicate it to him. Somebody like Pujara can't be dropped, then picked, dropped again and then picked. Same with Ajinkya Rahane also," the former Indian skipper said.
Surprised at Sarfaraz, Easwaran’s absence
Ganguly also questioned selectors' call to not give Sarfaraz Khan and Ambhimanyu Easwaran a chance. However, he feels that picking Yashasvi Jaiswal is a nice move.
"I think Yashasvi Jaiswal has scored tons of runs in Ranji Trophy, Irani Trophy, Duleep Trophy. I think that's why he is in the squad. I feel for Sarfaraz Khan. At some point he should get an opportunity for the amount of runs that he has scored in past three years.
"And same thing for Abhimanyu Easwaran for the tons of runs he has scored in last five to six years. I am surprised that both of them have been omitted but they should get a chance in future. But Yashasvi Jaiswal is a good selection," the 50-year-old shared his opinion.
Ganguly has worked with Sarfaraz as Director of Cricket at Delhi Capitals. He squashed the narrative that Sarfaraz can't play fast bowling.
"If you don't play him (Sarfaraz) against fast bowling, how do you know?" he countered.
“If he had problems he wouldn't have scored so many runs all around (India). I personally feel he has no problems against fast bowling and he should be given an opportunity.”
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