Ajinkya Rahane Calls for Young Selectors in Domestic Cricket, Says Players Shouldn’t Be ‘Scared’

Ajinkya Rahane advocated for recently-retired cricketers to become domestic selectors, arguing they better understand modern cricket.

Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane has proposed significant changes to how domestic cricket selectors are chosen, insisting that only recently-retired players should be appointed to these crucial roles. The former interim captain believes this approach would ensure selectors understand contemporary cricket’s demands and help players feel less intimidated by selection committees.

“Players should not be scared of selectors,” Rahane stated during a discussion with former teammate Cheteshwar Pujara on his YouTube channel. “I want to talk about selectors, especially in domestic cricket. We should have selectors who have retired recently from playing top-flight cricket, those who have retired five-six years, seven-eight years ago.”

Rahane emphasized that cricket’s rapid evolution makes current playing experience essential for selection committees. “Because the way cricket is evolving, I think it’s very important that the mentality and mindset of the selectors match that and keep pace with the change. The game is evolving. We don’t want to make decisions based on how cricket was played 20-30 years ago.”

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The Mumbai batsman highlighted how modern formats require contemporary understanding. “With formats like T20 and the IPL, it’s important to understand the style of modern cricket players. I believe selectors should, wherever possible, be individuals from all states, and players should be on the ground playing with freedom, playing fearless cricket.”

Currently, BCCI rules allow any cricketer with over ten first-class matches experience to apply for state selector positions after a five-year cooling-off period following retirement.

Pujara offered a more balanced perspective, agreeing with the concept but cautioning against completely excluding experienced former players. “In big states, this can be implemented because they have so many options. So, wherever possible, I do agree that it can be implemented, but that does mean that any past cricketer, who has got a great record and wants to be a selector now, should be deprived of the chance because he retired long back,” the Saurashtra veteran noted.