Sanjay Manjrekar has blasted the selectors over the non-selection of pacer Auqib Nabi.©Getty
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has blasted the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee over the non-selection of Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi for the upcoming one-off Test series against Afghanistan. speaking on Sportstar’s Insight Edge Podcast, Manjrekar labeled Nabi’s exclusion by Agarkar and co. as “ridiculous,” saying that the system does an injustice to proven performers. His criticisms echo those of former captain Dilip Vengsarkar, who thundered that the BCCI should scrap domestic cricket if selectors are going to ignore a bowler who took 60 wickets in a single Ranji season.
Nabi won the Ranji Trophy ‘Player of the Tournament’ after single-handedly leading J&K to their maiden title.
“I used to like the golden days when tremendous injustice was done. People would come out on the streets with placards and protests. Now the outcry is mostly on social media, but this is one non-selection that I just can’t understand. It’s actually ridiculous. When Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are not playing, whether because they are being rested or for long-term planning, then you might as well not have the Ranji Trophy if performances like these are going to be ignored,” said Manjrekar.
Manjrekar further suggested that Nabi’s exclusion doesn’t make any sense, especially when frontline pacers like jasprit bumrah and Mohammed Shami are unavailable, opening up clear slots in the bowling attack.
“It was an incredible story for Indian cricket, Jammu and Kashmir winning the Ranji Trophy, and this was the guy who almost single-handedly got them to the title. It was a no-brainer, and it’s really sad that he isn’t there. I can understand if the seam-bowling spots were taken by Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj and Shami, and Nabi couldn’t find a place. But this is beyond me. It’s not a good cricketing decision because when you compare his record with some of the others in the squad, tremendous injustice has been done,” he added.
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