Why selectors are not to be blamed for overlooking individuals from winning sides

But nothing quite repeats itself like a certain set of domestic players posting one cryptic tweet after another, crying foul, after being overlooked for the India A setup. And unlike officials who choose not to disclose their identity, these players voice their opinion publicly, often launching a no-holds-barred assault on everyone involved. The norm is that these ‘tweets’ or ‘shoot interviews’ get a lot of traction and, along with it, plenty of support from fans and players, who sympathize with them for the 'injustice' that was served. And as is the case in almost everything in life, the mob are quick to stick the villain tag on the people in power, which in this case are the selectors. But what if the people in charge are justified in taking those controversial decisions? The other side of the coin is often left unexplored.

And this is one of the reasons why the common argument - that of certain players getting overlooked despite their side tasting success - can be questioned. As an individual, your team tasting success shouldn’t warrant you a pass into the national side or even the India A set-up for that matter. Until and unless you, as a player, match the proficiency of the best individuals of the competition, the selectors have every right to overlook you. 

This season, only one Saurashtra batsman breached the 800-run mark barrier; there were eight other batsmen who managed to achieve the same in the competition. If and when the India A squads are announced, a lot of the aforementioned players will be aggrieved knowing they were left out despite helping their side clinch the title, but a selector has every reason to opt for someone like a Sarfaraz Khan or Harshal Patel over all of these players, for they did end up having more concrete individual seasons. Something for the teams to introspect is if their system - which is extremely well-organized and designed to beat teams - is proving to be detrimental to their own players, curtailing them from expressing themselves and propelling them into the next level. 

Gone are the days in Indian cricket when the feeders came from a specific number of states - be it Mumbai or Karnataka or Tamil Nadu or Delhi - who incidentally happened to be powerhouses in domestic cricket. The system is bigger and stronger than ever and thus there is an incessant need for individuals to break the door down to get into the national setup. Knocking isn’t good enough anymore, nor is just being a part of winning teams.