Wrong of Srikkanth to choose team in Dhoni’s absence

If reports are to be believed, then I think Kris Srikkanth & Co must give due weightage to what Dhoni has to say. You just can’t choose a team in his absence, hand over to him a sheet with names scribbled on it, and then expect him to go ahead and perform at his best. I feel it is quite demeaning for a captain not to be included in the scheme of things. After all, it is he who’s going to be out there in the middle calling the shots.

However, even if the selectors personally do not agree with what the captain or the coach has to say, at the end of the day the onus is on the selectors to select the team after consulting the captain.  There are ways and means of how to go about selecting a team. For instance, I used to have a quiet word or two not only with the captain and the coach, but also with a couple of senior players before getting down to the task. In this way, I’d get to know their views on certain issues that I anticipated would crop up.

Thus, come what may I’d be prepared to handle the situation without stirring up a hornet’s nest.

I think Srikkanth would be better off if he shows some patience and allows others to express their views too. I guess, eventually, he will learn from this avoidable episode.

With the series having been won most comprehensively, I feel the time is right for the selection committee to induct players with potential. That would not only build our reserve strength, but also allow the players an opportunity to exhibit their talent at the highest level.

Indirectly, the younger players would also get a feel of being part of a winning team’s dressing room, and that would stand the future of Indian cricket in good stead.

When else would they get such an opportunity to rub shoulders with stalwarts and learn a thing or two from the experience?  Certainly, circumstances have presented Srikkanth and his fellow selectors with a splendid opportunity, and they must not let it go abegging.  Players like Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Dhaval Kulkarni, Mohnish Parmar and Pragyan Ojha to name a few are knocking on the doors and will surely make it sooner or later. And to pave the path for them, they must be made to feel they’re a part of Team India, a place that every young cricketer in the country dreams of being in.