Out-of-favour star hits back at Gambhir, Agarkar’s stance, exposes bitter reality: ‘To play for India you have to…’

The out-of-favour star said that despite the renewed push for domestic cricket, the IPL remains the benchmark for India selection.

Over the past two years, the BCCI has taken significant steps to prioritise domestic cricket, even warning centrally contracted players that they could face penalties if they skip domestic fixtures while not on national duty. The move even prompted star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to return to the Ranji Trophy last season, following their underwhelming outing in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

India's head coach Gautam Gambhir, left, and Ajit Agarkar, chairperson of the Senior Men's Selection Committee. (AP)

While the initiative was first pushed by former BCCI secretary Jay Shah, the current selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, along with head coach Gautam Gambhir, has strongly backed the approach. They have repeatedly reminded players that to stay in contention across formats, participation in domestic cricket and India A matches is essential whenever available.

However, out-of-favour India fast bowler Navdeep Saini disagreed. Speaking to PTI on Sunday after returning figures of 2/20 in nine overs in Delhi’s Ranji Trophy match against Himachal Pradesh, he offered a blunt take — claiming the Indian Premier League (IPL) remains the real benchmark for national selection.

“Whether one likes it or not, to play for India, you have to do well in IPL. It is a reality. A year before, I had a shoulder injury and my pace dropped — it cost me an IPL contract,” Saini said.

The Delhi speedster was once regarded as India's future in fast bowling, after he impressed with his raw pace in the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. In fact, he was among the stars in India's historic Test series win in Australia that year. He played two matches in that contest, snaring four wickets, before picking up a groin injury during the Gabba Test. Saini also played eight ODIs and 11 T20Is for India, picking 19 wickets in all. His last international game was in a T20I contest against Sri Lanka in July 2021.

Despite falling out of reckoning for a place in the Indian team, Saini still yearns to don the national jersey again.

“Yes, I can but I love this challenge of bowling in days’ games. Last match, I didn’t get wickets (in Hyderabad) as the wicket was slow. On this track, post Tea, it became lively,” he said. He also said that he still dreams of making a comeback to the Indian team. “Why not? If I have a couple of fifers, I will again be part of the discussions,” said Saini.

“I had nothing to lose when I had first come here and after so many years, I still have nothing to lose. If I don’t dream of returning to the Indian team then I have no right to hold on to a place in the Delhi team.”