Follow UsIndia pacer Ishant Sharma has backed the selectors, saying that the trolling they receive in this day and age of social media is too much, and they should not be subjected to it, as they are also doing their job.
“There’s always a lot of talk around players like Shreyas Iyer not being picked, but the real question is — kiski jagah daalte?” was Ishant’s blunt question while speaking on Raj Shamai’s podcast, as quoted by Times of India.
“Either you ask the ICC to allow a 20-member squad instead of 15 because India has so much talent. It’s very difficult to make people understand. Yes, you might be a fan of an individual, but the most thankless job in cricket is that of a selector,” he added.
Taking the example of the recent controversy around Iyer’s non-selection for the Asia Cup T20 and the T20 leg of the Australia tour, Ishant said, “If they pick one player, he’s good in the eyes of fans, but the one who isn’t picked suddenly makes the selectors look bad. I’m not saying anything against Shreyas — he’s a class player, no doubt — but it’s a question of balance.”
The 37-year-old, who has not played for India since 2021, also took other examples and said that the talks would always be on who is not selected, rather than who is selected, because the fans of those not selected will make more noise.
“Take Rishabh Pant in T20s — who can replace him? Or KL Rahul, who had a strong IPL but didn’t make the T20 squad. If Rahul was picked, maybe Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson or someone else wouldn’t have been. That’s the reality. Jo nahi hote na, unki hi sabse zyada baat hoti hai. [The ones not selected will always be talked about more than the ones who are],” asserted the man with 434 international wickets in his kitty.