What more do I have to do to play for India: Ishwar Pandey
Ishwar Pandey, the lanky pacer from Madhya Pradesh, has been a seasoned performer in the Indian domestic circuit with 165 wickets in 46 matches, but after warming the bench for the Indian Test team’s tours to New Zealand and England, the lad from Rewa wonders “what more does he need to do to play for India.”
After an eight-wicket haul against Bengal in the quarterfinals to guide Madhya Pradesh into the semi-final of the 2015/16 Ranji Trophy, Ishwar Pandey shared his disappointment of not donning the national colours in an interview to the Hindu on Thursday.
“Sometimes, I wonder what more do I have to do to play for India.
“You bowl your heart out in domestic cricket, do your bit in the tour games and then next season someone comes out of nowhere and plays for India.
“You find yourself out of the team without getting an opportunity, go back to where you had started. It is hard,” Pandey told the Hindu.
The pacer, who was a part of the Chennai Super Kings in the last two seasons of the IPL, moved to newcomers Rising Pune Supergiants in the IPL auction on last Saturday. But Pandey talked about the case of his team-mate Jalaj Saxena, who did not get an IPL contract even after winning the best all-rounder award in Ranji Trophy. (Also Read: Our pick for the winners and losers of IPL 2016 after the spending spree)
“Jalaj Saxena was voted the best all-rounder in Ranji Trophy for 2014-15 by the BCCI and received the award this year.
“All-rounders are so valuable yet he did not get picked by any team in the recent IPL auction. It can be demoralising,” said Pandey.
Pandey also added that the domestic tournaments will lose their context if the performers are not awarded with national call-ups.
“Unless performances are recognised, the domestic tournaments will lose context. It will become hard for cricketers to find motivation,” said Pandey before signing off.
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