BHOPAL, 10 March 2006 — With an eye on the World Cup 2007 to be played in West Indies, the Indian cricket team are experimenting with a bunch of promising youngsters in order to build a strong squad.
This was stated by Sanjay Jagdale, member of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee, in an interview here. He was on a short visit to Bhopal to invite Madhya Pradesh Governor Dr Balram Jakhar, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and others for the ODI to be played between India and England on April 15. He spoke on various aspects of Indian cricket.
Jagdale, known for not making any controversial statements at any point of his life, once again maintained silence on the selection procedures and criteria being adopted by the BCCI in the recent visit of Pakistan and the ongoing series with England in India.
However, he said that selection of the team was a unanimous decision of the committee and there was no problem as such. Justifying the selection of teenaged spinner Piyush Chawla, Jagdale suggested that the selection was a part of the experiment being made by the selection committee. “The preparation is for the next World Cup and things are going in right direction. Youngsters are being tested”, opined Jagdale.
On exclusion of pacer V R V Singh and batsman Suresh Raina from the second Test against England without giving any opportunity in the first Test, he suggested that this should not be perceived that they were not fit for the team. As this is the time of experimentation, the inclusion and dropping of players from the team should be taken positively, Jagdale added.
Commenting on the selection of Piyush Chawla for the national team though he has not played much first class cricket, Jagdale said Chawla performed well in the Under-19 World Cup. He denied that Chawla had not played enough first class cricket.
The national selector, however, refused to comment on Greg Chappell-Saurav Ganguly issue. Regarding the future of J P Yadav, the only international cricketer from Bhopal, Sanjay Jagdale said that it is the performance that decides the future of any player. “If a player performs good in the first class cricket, the selection committee always thinks for him. The same applies with J P Yadav”, said Jagdale.
Meanwhile, an ODI would be played in Indore after three years. The last match was played in 2003 between India and Australia in which Sachin Tendulkar completed 10,000 runs. Jagdale, who is also the secretary of Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA), hoped a good contest at Indore. “Preparations are going according the expectations and the match will be played in best of cricket environment”, said Jagdale.
As regards the wicket, he said that pitch would be of the Indian conditions. Notably, a new wicket and stand are being prepared at the stadium.
During his visit he discussed the match with the senior cricket officials of Bhopal Divisional Cricket Association including secretary Dr Shafquat Mohammad Khan and BDCA vice-president Aruneshwar Singhdeo.
