Selectors ignore Vidarbha players in India U23 team for Bangladesh series

The All India Junior Selection Committee announced the 15-man India U23 squad for the upcoming One-Day series against Bangladesh at home. The series is set to get underway on September 19 and will go on until September 27 as the hosts will be led by Priyam Garg. However, there has been an air of disappointment over the absence of the talented Vidarbha players in the squad for the series.

Vidarbha has been doing exceptionally well in the domestic circuit across all the levels. They won both Ranji Trophy and Irani Trophy in 2017-18 and 2018-19 season and still their players didn’t find a place in the India A team for Sri Lanka A and West Indies A series. Moreover, they are the One-Day champions at the U23 level and were the semi-finalists in the Col CK Nayudu U23 trophy last season.

But still, none of the Vidarbha players have been selected. The likes of Aniruddha Choudhury, Saurabh Dubey, Aditya Thakre, Parth Rekhade and Akshay Dullarwar were some of the top performers for the team in the last season. But not even a single player was picked by the selector for the upcoming series.

We have got used to the snub

While there is no doubt that the players are disappointed, a former Vidarbha player claims that they have got used to the snub. He cited several examples from the 1990s until now to highlight how only Vidarbha players are being ignored despite performing well in the domestic circuit.

“Our junior players have always performed well. However, they never get rewarded for their performance,” a former Vidarbha player said. “We have seen what happened with former wicketkeeper Amit Deshpande in late 90s. Things haven’t changed much. Faiz scored an unbeaten 55 against Zimbabwe on his ODI debut in 2016. He is still waiting for his next India call. At least, he should have been in India ‘A’ teams,” he was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

Choudhury, Rekhade or Dubey should’ve got a call-up

The opener Aniruddha Choudhury had scored 727 runs in the CK Nayudu Trophy while the left-arm spinner Parth Rekhade scalped 43 wickets in the same tournament. Dubey also shined with 35 wickets in the CK Nayudu trophy and the 20-year-old Thakre has shown promise as well.

“We expected Choudhury, Rekhade or Dubey to get a call. They have already attended NCA camp this summer. It is unfortunate, but we must respect the decision of national selectors. Players will have to take such blows in their stride and come up with better performances,” the Vidarbha Cricket Association official said.

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