World Cup 2019: I don’t feel sorry for Karthik and Rayudu, says former BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale

Team India’s exit from the 2019 World Cup has left a lot to be pondered about. From a long time, the management has been trying to find an appropriate batsman for the number four slot. A number of players, including the likes of Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar were tried out, but most of them couldn’t show enough consistency to pay selectors’ faith.

For the mega event, India preferred Shankar and sidelined Rayudu, who announced his retirement soon after being overlooked for the second time in the span of one month. Mayank Agarwal, who’s yet to get his maiden ODI cap, was called upon to replace Shankar. Rayudu was India’s No. 4 ever since the 2018 Asia Cup and his exclusion drew a lot of criticism from the netizens, who believed his case was an example of ‘mistreating a player’.

In the meantime, Sanjay Jagdale, the former BCCI secretary, said that he doesn’t feel sorry for Rayudu and Karthik as both of them have got ample chances to show their mettle. Furthermore, he didn’t mince any words in saying that national team selections can’t be made on the basis of performances in the IPL.

“They (selection committee) kept on experimenting with Vijay Shankar, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik… Karthik has been playing since 2003 when I was a selector. Rayudu also. You can’t pick teams on the basis of the IPL performance. You need players who have performed well outside the sub-continent,” Jagdale was quoted as saying in The Indian Express.

Selectors backed the wrong players

Jagdale was also taken aback when Rishabh Pant wasn’t picked in the initial 15-man squad for the tournament. It was only after Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out due to a thumb injury that the 21-year-old was roped in as a replacement. Moreover, Jagdale felt that Pandey and also Shreyas Iyer should’ve gotten more chances and the selectors kept on backing the wrong players.

“I was really shocked when Pant wasn’t picked. I also feel sorry for somebody like Manish Pandey. Shreyas Iyer, too, was unfortunate. I don’t feel sorry for Rayudu. Rayudu, Karthik; they had enough chances. Manish Pandey got a hundred in Australia. After that, he didn’t get many chances. I think the preparation part could have been much better. They were backing the wrong players,” he added.