Difficult to understand Rahane’s decision to make him Test vice-captain immediately after his return: Sourav Ganguly

New Delhi. It came as a surprise to Sourav Ganguly to hand over the vice-captaincy to Ajinkya Rahane in Tests after he was out of the team for nearly 18 months and the former India skipper sought continuity and stability in the selection process. Till a year-and-a-half ago, the 35-year-old Rahane was out of contention to make the team but he was India’s best batsman with scores of 89 and 46 in the World Test Championship final against Australia earlier this month.

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Just one Test after his comeback, the national selection committee headed by interim chief Shiv Sundar Das re-appointed Rahane as the vice-captain for the West Indies Test series. So would it not have been ideal to groom another player like Shubman Gill for the role, Ganguly told PTI from London, “Yeah, I think so too.” Though he did not term the decision to make Rahane a regressive step, he did not call it a pragmatic decision either. He said, “I would not say that it is a step backwards. You’re out for 18 months, then you play one Test and you’re made vice-captain. I don’t understand the thought process behind this. Ravindra Jadeja is also in the team, who has been in the team for a long time and definitely plays in Test matches, he is a candidate. ,

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Ganguly, one of India’s finest Test captains, said, “But to make a sudden comeback after 18 months and immediately to be made vice-captain is beyond my understanding.” My point is that there should be continuity and consistency in the selection. The Indian selectors have started the process of change by dropping a batsman of the stature of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ganguly wants the communication to be clear with a player who has played more than 100 Test matches for India. He said, “The selectors should have been clear about him (Pujara). Whether they want to play him more in Test cricket or whether they want to continue with the youngsters, he should have been told about it. You cannot have a player of Pujara’s stature out of the team, then in and then out, then in again. Same is the case with Ajinkya Rahane. It seems that even in order to break into the team in Test cricket, a player needs a strong performance in the IPL, as Ruturaj Gaikwad did. Ganguly, however, does not agree with this. He said that a brilliant batsman like Sarfaraz Khan, who could not do well in IPL, should have been given a chance to prove himself.

Ganguly said, “I think Yashasvi Jaiswal has scored a lot of runs in Ranji Trophy, Irani Trophy, Duleep Trophy. I think that’s why he is in the team. I think even Sarfaraz Khan should have been given a chance, he has also scored a lot in the last three years. ”””’ He said, ′′ It is the same with Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has scored a lot of runs in the last five to six years. I am surprised that both of them are not in the team but they should be given a chance in future. But good selection of Yashasvi Jaiswal. ,

Ganguly praised both ICC (International Cricket Council) and BCCI (Indian Cricket Board) on the choice of World Cup venues. He said, “It has a great schedule and the matches are given in good stadiums. The BCCI and the ICC have given the right matches at the right venues and I know it is going to be a great World Cup.