Increasingly, performances in domestic long-format cricket don’t carry much weight as a criterion for national selection
Abhinav Mukund22-Jan-2025Amid all the talk of India’s marquee players being asked to play domestic cricket, it’s business as usual for a few.Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sarfaraz Khan, in particular, will be itching for some game time. The only image of note that I saw of Easwaran in the entire series in Australia was when he ran on to congratulate Nitish Reddy after his hundred at the MCG. For Sarfaraz, it was when he was keeping in the tour game and appealed for a double touch. Otherwise these two players didn’t warrant a mention, and largely didn’t even when teams were discussed on social media.There is much talk about the need for Indian cricketers to make domestic cricket a priority, but how much does red-ball performance count for while picking the India XI?Related
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Sarfaraz made a fighting hundred in the second innings in Bengaluru after India were shot out for 46 by New Zealand. Four Test innings later, he finds himself low in the pecking order for a slot in the middle order. Dhruv Jurel, Devdutt Padikkal and others were preferred ahead of him on the tour. Sarfaraz has averaged over 75 in first-class cricket in the last five years, with 15 hundreds and 11 fifties in 41 matches.Easwaran has been knocking on the doors of the Indian team for years now. Over the last five years he has averaged 50 with 14 hundreds and 12 fifties in 44 first-class matches. He has been on multiple A tours but has never got an opportunity in the Test side. Sarfaraz and Easwaran are among the best in the country in their respective positions. Though the selectors thought they were good enough to make the squad for the Australia series, they weren’t picked by the team management for any of the Tests.India were prepared to fix their top-order problem in Australia with KL Rahul, who was a middle-order specialist leading in to that series. In the Duleep Trophy game that was a precursor to the domestic season, Easwaran opened for India B, while Rahul batted at four for India A in the first game.
The only currency we all knew growing up as batters was runs. Now the questions are: Can the runs be scored at a faster pace by someone else? Or do they have experience of facing high-quality international bowling in leagues around the world?
Mayank Agarawal, who opened for India A in that tournament, got 150 and 62 for India against New Zealand in December 2021. He played his last Test for India in March 2022.Red-ball cricket is a tough gig. The hours are long and the conditions vary a lot more than in limited-overs cricket. It is more marathon than sprint. Moreover, it is often not as financially lucrative as white-ball cricket, so there is little incentive other than a Test cap to motivate a player. Remember also that it may take years for a vacancy to open up in the position you as a first-class player have specialised in.Three balls are currently used in Test cricket, the SG, which we use for our domestic and international games in India, the Kookaburra that is used in Australia and New Zealand, and the Dukes that is used in England and the West indies. Each comes with its own challenges. Meanwhile, one ball is used for international white-ball cricket around the world.I have no qualms about saying that the easy way out is to become a freelance cricketer in today’s world. Players now see potential in becoming white-ball specialists and honing their techniques and skill towards the shorter formats.Abhimanyu Easwaran has over 7500 runs in first-class cricket at an average of close to 50. What does that count for when it comes to potential selection for the India side?•Tanuj/ Ekana Cricket StadiumJames Vince is not the first cricketer to take this route – nor will he be the last. Trent Boult in some sense was the OG in turning down a central contract. His countryman and Test legend Kane Williamson followed suit last year. Interestingly, Vince played for Hampshire, a team that is now majority-owned by the GMR group – co-owners of Delhi Capitals. This trend, if I may call it that, is likely to take off around the world and global franchise contracts will become the norm rather than state and national contracts. But while becoming a freelance cricketer is an attractive option for players in the rest of the world, it isn’t available to Indian cricketers unless they retire.Sam Konstas who made a dramatic debut in the Melbourne Test, reverse-scooping Jasprit Bumrah and getting to 62, only played a handful of first-class games before he was fast-tracked into the Test squad. He had made just two first-class hundreds, in the same game, before his call-up. Jacob Bethell was handed the No. 3 spot for England despite a first-class average of just 25.44 from 30 innings. He became the first specialist batter since Mike Gatting in 1978 to get an England Test cap without scoring a first-class hundred. Bethell has made three fifties in three Tests, validating his selection.There is a 2019 article on this site about Priyank Panchal and Easwaran and how they were regulars on A tours, fighting for one spot. Six years later Panchal is not in the minds of selectors, and Easwaran hangs on in hopes of getting a Test cap, in spite of having toured around the world with the India A side. What happened in those six years is that India have found an exceptional opening batter in Yashasvi Jaiswal and he has leapfrogged all of the other suitors for the opening spot and made it his own.The only currency we all knew growing up as batters was runs, and that still remains true, except with a caveat: Can the runs be scored at a faster pace by someone else? Or do they have experience of facing high-quality international bowling in leagues around the world? With players around the world renouncing first-class cricket for better opportunities and financial stability, there is a huge question mark over the value of first-class experience.
After being on the circuit for over 15 years myself, I struggle to explain the benefits of first-class cricket to a young player
There are five selectors in India looking at 32 Ranji teams that play at the same time around the country. Conversely, there are multiple scouts at many domestic white-ball games, and some at state league games as well, looking at potential candidates who might in future make it to their IPL franchises.Even if a player gets picked for the Test squad, it is the team management that picks the XI. Largely, the only opportunity for the management to have a look at the first-class cricketers who make it to the squad is in the nets, and that is unfair on both parties and an inadequate measure of a player’s ability. Recent instances seem to prove the management is happier to pick those who have played the shortest format against the best players in the world. Take Jurel, or even Nitish Reddy, who were given an opportunity largely or partly on the basis of the potential they showed in the shortest format. This is another reason why performances in first-class cricket aren’t valued enough to warrant a place in the XI.I am not suggesting revamping the system, or even saying Indian internationals must play regularly in the Ranji Trophy. It is unrealistic to expect those players, who have such a tough schedule, to turn up consistently for domestic cricket. To ask them to do so seems like a knee-jerk reaction to the losses in Australia, and while it is understandable, to me at least, it isn’t sustainable in the long run.The stakeholders involved need to trust the domestic system and the players it produces. They need to be given sustained opportunities at the highest level. After all, these are guys who have built their game and have had sustained success over a period of time.Jacob Bethell had only 20 first-class games under his belt when he made his Test debut last year•AFP/Getty ImagesIf you look at the Test caps handed to India players since 2019, you can clearly tell their white-ball abilities have had an influence on their Test selection. The vast majority of these players are regulars in their IPL teams. I am not saying this is wrong, but what happens to players looking for Test caps who aren’t part of the IPL?You have to admit, it just shows the growing irrelevance of first-class cricket. After being on the circuit for over 15 years myself, I struggle to explain the benefits of first-class cricket to a young player. It’s somewhat like explaining a typewriter and its functions to a youngster wielding a smartphone.The second phase of the Ranji Trophy begins on January 23. For some its utility might lie in the chance to sharpen their skills, for some it may be a way to play themselves back into form, and for some it might just offer game time before the white-ball season begins. It is the last opportunity this season for the red-ball specialists to shine, with all the top stars returning, before we shift our attention to the T20Is against England, ODIs, and eventually the IPL. Players like Easwaran, Sarfaraz, and other fringe cricketers who aren’t a part of the IPL, will eventually have to find a way in the summer months to keep their form and fitness, and if possible, find some game time to stay in tune and in contention for selection for the England series in June.