'He doesn't select; he rejects': Gambhir gets smashing reply for saying 'Main selector nahi hu' on Shreyas Iyer's snub
The Indian cricket team is set to tour England for five Test matches in June. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) unveiled an 18-member squad last Saturday, which received mixed reactions from fans and the cricketing fraternity. One of the most discussed topics was the omission of Shreyas Iyer, who had an excellent domestic and international outing. The selectors were questioned for ignoring Shreyas' brilliant form, with one journalist insisting that the chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, gave a detailed and elaborate answer.
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir was also asked about Shreyas Iyer's exclusion from the Test squad. In response, Gambhir said, "Main selector nahi hoon," translating to 'I am not the selector'. This reply indicated that the selection process doesn't involve coaching staff, which was quite surprising. During the 12th episode of Bails and Banter on the OTTplay app, former Indian pacer Atul Wassan took a hilarious dig at the Indian coach, saying, 'he doesn't select; he only rejects'.
Reacting to Gambhir's comment, Wassan said that a coach plays a key role in the team selection process. He said, "The coach has a role in team selection, and selectors also listen to them before naming the squad."
Wassan further defended the Indian head coach, saying that sometimes the coach has to go with the feel of selecting his choice of players, irrespective of being right or wrong. "If he (Gautam Gambhir) has been given this position, then I think he deserves to go with his feeling, whether it's right or wrong."
Iyer's India record is not as much, but certainly not poor by any stretch of the imagination. In 14 matches, he's scored 811 runs, including a century on debut against New Zealand, only to follow it with a half-century. Besides, he scored a 92 against Sri Lanka and produced crucial knocks of 86 and 87 against Bangladesh to help India avoid a scare.
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