Vijay Hazare Trophy | Barinder Sran leaves Punjab to play for Chandigarh
Barinder Sran has finalized his transfer from his parent state of Punjab to the Chandigarh cricket team after the former had axed him from their Vijay Hazare Trophy squad. Sran went down harsh on the board stating he was ignored without being told why, even though a selector dismissed such claims.
Left-arm medium-fast bowler Barinder Sran has announced he will be representing the union territory of Chandigarh this season onwards in domestic competitions after having received a no objection certificate from the Punjab Cricket Association. The 26-year-old had made his debut for his home state in 2011-12 and had steadily rose to prominence after some consistent displays but of late has fallen out of favour.
Having spent large periods of time on the sidelines over the past two years owing to various serious injuries to his leg, Sran had finally returned to full witness recently. However, he saw himself getting excluded from Punjab’s squad for the Vijay Hazare trophy which instigated him to make on.
“They didn’t even give me a valid reason. At least I deserved to know the reason, why was I dropped. The selectors stopped taking my phone calls. I had no other option. I can’t waste my entire season. So, I decided to make a move and have no regrets,” he was quoted saying by TOI.
He has represented India in six ODIs and a couple of T20Is, having 13 wickets to his name. He played for the Mumbai Indians in the latest edition of the IPL where he was mentored by legendary pace bowler Zaheer Khan who helped him remodel his bowling style to help avoid injuries.
"I want to play for India again, but for that I need to play. I am being let down by the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) But it is a thing of the past. I am fit now and it's time to look ahead. I will breach the 140kmph mark consistently this season," he added.
However, Punjab chief selector Arjun Sharma denied any claims that the bowler shares a toxic relationship with the cricket association, as he explained the reason for Sran’s absence from the squad.
"Every cricketer wants to play consistently. It is difficult to fix your place in the Punjab side as it has so many talented pacers. There is Siddarth Kaul Sandeep Sharma and Arshdeep Singh. This is completely his decision and I respect it, and wish him well for the future,” he stated.
