Goan all-rounder Saurabh Bandekar stole the limelight in London making his runs count at minor county matches. And this should come as a resounding slap on those who wrote him off in his own home State. Playing in the Western District Cricket Union league in Glasgow-Scotland, Bandekar scored 567 runs at an average of 51.55 and got 20 wickets at an average of 27.15 in the league.
Unfortunately, Bandekar is not found good enough a player by the GCA president to be in the Goa Ranji team. He along with two others, including former international T20 star and one of Goa’s most successful all-rounder Shadab Jakati have been axed from the team.
Bandekar has played 64 Ranji Trophy matches since his debut in 2005 and scored an total of 2025 runs besides taking 171 wickets with one century and 10 half-centuries. His best bowling figures are 6 for 75, and has scalped five wickets in seven matches.
Jakati has been in the Ranji team for around 20 years and has been the highest wicket taker for the State with 275 wickets in 92 matches.
But surprisingly, all these stats don’t count for the Goa Cricket Association led by Suraj Lotlikar. Lotlikar has preferred to go for cricket legend Mohammad Azharuddin’s son Asaduddin, a cricketer who has not played a single first class match. The other inclusion is Karnataka batsman Amit Verma, a 31-year-old with a below par performance compared to both Jakati and Bandekar.
It’s very clear that cricketers are on a slippery pitch in Goa. No selection panel would ever decide to dump their own cricket talent and bet on players who have lesser cricketing credentials. There cannot be a justification and merely age group cannot be a criteria. And even if that is the qualification GCA is looking at, going forward, Goa will never be able to compete at the top level where teams have always settled for a mix of youth and experience.
Yes, fresh talent need to be tried, but not at the cost of sacrificing someone’s career midway without reason or rhyme. If Asaduddin has been roped in only because of the star value of his dad and for the free mentoring that comes along, how does the GCA president say Asaduddin’s place in the team is not guaranteed? In that case, will Azhar still offer his free-of-cost mentoring job, even if his son is not in the playing eleven?
Lotlikar, you are scuttling careers of Goan cricketers and planting outstation cricketers by mixing politics and cheap deals. If the GCA is broke, is it the fault of the players? And what is the future of stars in the Goa team whose careers hang by a thin thread which can be snapped anytime at the president’s whims and fancies? Can you also explain what GCA has done to nurture and groom home-grown talent?
The selection of these outstation players is beyond logic and merit. There’s no selection committee in place and players cannot be hand-picked at the whims and fancies of a few. If a player of the caliber of Jakati is dropped with no sound basis, what would be the fate of cricketers in Goa and the several others who aspire to make it to the top? God save Goan cricket.
