Parvez Rasool, who finally got to play a match for India A (and made a decent contribution in the win against South Africa A), would be mighty relieved though still a trifle confused.
Not played in any of the five matches in the recent series against Zimbabwe and omitted from the first match of the A team’s tour of South Africa too, he must wonder, justifiably, whether he is being judged on his cricketing merits or is willy-nilly becoming a pawn in the country’s politics.
I am in no position to say whether Omar Abdullah, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, was trying to make political capital of Rasool being denied an opportunity to showcase his talent in Zimbabwe when he tweeted about it, creating a furore of sorts in the media and in cricketing circles.
The argument that Rasool was humiliated’, as Abdullah chose to term it, is of course specious. Choosing the playing side, I maintain, is at all times the prerogative of the tour (when overseas) selection committee. What Abdullah’s tweets did underscore, however, was an opportunity lost in trying out a promising young all-rounder.
Apart from being the first player from his state to win national colours, Rasool’s rise to cricketing eminence has other intriguing twists and turns which make for a compelling story. But these have been documented well enough to bear repetition.
The key point to remember here is that Rasool was not chosen on political or charitable grounds. He got into the squad through sheer dint of effort in the last domestic season, making his mark as a fine off-spinner and a handy late-order batsman.
Bishen Singh Bedi, who coached Jammu and Kashmir for a season, has praised Rasool widely for his talent. Bedi thinks that the 24-year-old Kashmiri has the cleanest action for a spin bowler in the country, apart from the ability to spin the ball with control.
Finding youngsters with potential and providing them enough chances to vie for places to defend the World Cup in 2015 has been the stated objective of the national selectors, which is why it was surprising to see Rasool being overlooked right through the Zimbabwe tour.
A clean sweep is a matter of pride and high achievement even against Zimbabwe, let’s have no misunderstanding. But in a broader context no less significant is the need to check out the aptitude, mind and nerves of players not so far seen in international matches.
Had the team been any threat of an upset, the selection policy would obviously have had to be different. By the time the second match was won, it was plain to everybody that there was no contest between India and Zimbabwe and the newer’ players should then have come into play.
Indeed, one would have liked to see Cheteshwar Pujara — even Ajinkya Rahane and Mohit Sharma — in the side before the series was decided. The pressures and demands of playing in a series that is still alive’ are vastly different from playing in a dead rubber. In the event, Rasool was the only player to not get even a single game.
The tour selection committee was perhaps too sharply focused on whitewashing a very weak team instead of trying out the young and new talent for which some senior pros had specifically been rested. In the context of what this tour was all about — and not for political reasons — this was a lapse.
But that’s now in the past. Though the World Cup is still more than 18 months away, the period of experimentation is now. Seasoned as well as upcoming players must be put through testing situations to assess their ability, fitness and motivation so that the best squad is picked for the biggest tournament in the sport.