Navdeep Saini, the 32-year-old right-arm fast bowler of the Indian national cricket team, seems to have exposed the BCCI selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar, saying that only Indian Premier League (IPL) performance is important for India’s selection.
Navdeep Saini, who shared the dressing room with Virat Kohli for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Indian team, said that to play for the Indian national cricket team, he needs to perform well in the Indian Premier League (IPL), without which it will be impossible to wear the blue jersey.
When I came I wasn’t happy – Navdeep Saini
Delhi pacer Navdeep Saini has represented the Indian team in all three formats of the game. He made his T20I debut on August 3, 2019 against West Indies at Lauderhill and earned his ODI cap against the same opponents in Cuttack on December 22 of the same year.
Your daily cricket intake!
He made his debut for India in the longest format against Australia in Sydney on January 7, 2021, but had to wait a few more years to get a Test cap.
Saini last played white-ball cricket for India during the Sri Lanka tour in July 2021, and his last Test appearance was during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21.
Navdeep Saini, who made his comeback with 2/20 in nine overs in the Ranji Trophy match against Himachal Pradesh in Delhi, said in a recent interaction with PTI:
“When it came to me, I couldn’t stop myself and even after all these years I still can’t stop myself. If India weren’t dreaming of a comeback, I wouldn’t have had the right to hold my place in the Delhi team. (When I came here in 2013, I had nothing to lose. I have nothing to lose now. What’s the point of blocking the slot for the Delhi team if you don’t dream of a comeback for India?)
In recent years, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has become much stricter, making it mandatory for players who wish to represent the Indian team at international level to participate in domestic cricket.
The initiative was first promoted by Jay Shah when he was BCCI secretary and received huge support from head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
However, Navdeep Saini still feels that the most important thing is his performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and does not necessarily buy into the narrative that domestic cricket is the benchmark for international selection.
“Whether you like it or not, you have to perform well in the IPL to play for India. That’s the reality. I had a shoulder injury a year ago that slowed me down. That cost me my IPL contract,” Saini said.
When asked if he should focus only on white-ball cricket, the pacer replied that he can do that, but he loves playing red-ball cricket. Navdeep Saini is also optimistic about getting back into India’s plan of things if he picks up a few five-wicket hauls.
Despite missing out on the India squad, Saini is still keen to don the national jersey again.
“Yes, I can, but I love this challenge of bowling in a multi-day match. In the last match, I didn’t get any wickets (in Hyderabad) because the wickets were slow. On this track after tea, it was buzzing,” he said.
“Why not? If I had a few Phifers, I would join the discussion again,” Navdeep Saini said.
Also read: Karun Nehru slams Ajit Agarkar for ruining his career: ‘I deserve more than a series’