"Players should not be scared of selectors" - Former India captain drops massive statement

Published - 15 Oct 2025, 12:13 IST | Updated - 15 Oct 2025, 12:34 IST

Former India Test skipper Ajinkya Rahane opined that players should not be scared of selectors. He suggested that selectors, especially in domestic cricket, should be players who retired from playing top-flight cricket not more than seven to eight years ago.

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain said that the game is evolving rapidly, and selectors should have a clear understanding of the developments. He stated that decisions regarding team selection shouldn't be taken based on how cricket was played a couple of decades ago.

"Players should not be scared of selectors. I want to talk about selectors, especially in domestic cricket. We should have selectors who have retired recently from playing top-flight cricket, those who have retired five-six years, seven-eight years ago," Rahane said during an interaction with his former teammate Cheteshwar Pujara on the former's YouTube channel.

"Because the way cricket is evolving, I think it's very important that the mentality and mindset of the selectors match that and keep pace with the change. The game is evolving. We don't want to make decisions based on how cricket was played 20-30 years ago. With formats like T20 and the IPL, it's important to understand the style of modern cricket players," he added.

Rahane believes that players should be given the freedom to express themselves, an environment where they can play a fearless brand of cricket.

"I believe selectors should, wherever possible, be individuals from all states, and players should be on the ground playing with freedom, playing fearless cricket," Rahane added.

During the discussion, Pujara went on to offer a balanced view. The former India cricketer said that it will be possible for big states to have selectors who retired from the game recently. However, he mentioned that players who have fantastic records shouldn't be deprived of a chance to become selectors just because they retired a long time ago.

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"In big states, this can be implemented because they have so many options. So, wherever possible, I do agree that it can be implemented, but that does not mean that any past cricketer, who has got a great record and wants to be a selector now, should be deprived of the chance because he retired long back," Pujara said.