Rohit did not get fair treatment

Age shouldn't rule out any one,even if the player is 16 or 30. Sachin was only around 16 when he was picked,but it was a unanimous choice.

Written by Jonathan Selvaraj
New Delhi | August 21, 2011 02:08 AM IST

2 min read

Akash Lal was the North Zone representative on the selection panel that picked Sachin Tendulkar. Lal never played for India,but was responsible for sending Indias greatest to his first tour,Pakistan 1989. He spoke to Jonathan Selvaraj.

Age shouldn’t rule out any one,even if the player is 16 or 30. Sachin was only around 16 when he was picked,but it was a unanimous choice. Why we picked Sachin was because of his tactical ability. That is the ability to play in any situation and in different conditions not just on surfaces that suit batting. We always knew that Sachin was something special because more than talent,which we saw in many players,he also had tremendous discipline to improving himself.

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One of the best decisions I made as part of the group of selectors was for the tour to New Zealand in 1990. We had decided to get a completely new-look team and we brought in 7-8 fresh faces. The most important thing for a selector then becomes to back a player. If you have picked somebody on ability,then you need to have faith in that persons ability and yourself as well. Tom Graveney,one of England’s best players,had a poor start in his Test career but then got 170 odd in his next game against us.

Domestic cricket must still be given the highest priority. If I had to pick someone to replace the top order,I would look for correctness of play. When Sachin was picked he was technically very assured. Nowadays I am aghast to see that we are facing the same traditional problems against the ball leaving the off stump,and the rising delivery.

I personally think that Rohit Sharma has been given a rough deal by the selectors. He first got a chance in Australia and he performed really well on surfaces that were really difficult to bat on. I think the selectors have forgotten about him.