Veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane says important to have selectors' 'mentality and mindset match the change'

Ever since the announced of India's squad for the white-ball Australia tour, the selectors' role have come under scanner, especially on topic of replacing Rohit Sharma as the ODI skipper with Shubman Gill. The selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar also ignored pacer Mohammed Shami for the tour as well - hinting that the board is moving on from the pacer who has not played much international cricket since his brilliant exploits in 2023 ODI World Cup. Now, veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane has called for changes in process of picking the selectors.

Rahane bats for change in selector picking process

"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 while speaking on former teammate Cheteshwar Pujara’s YouTube channel. "I think it's very important that the mentality and mindset of the selectors match that and keep pace with the change,” Rahane explained further.

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What is the criteria of becoming a national selector?

As per the rules set by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), a player who has retired from the international cricket at least five years ago is eligible to apply for the post of selector when the opportunity opens up. Most recently, former India spinner Pragyan Ojha was appointed one of the selectors.

The BCCI has a total of five national selectors including a chairman who consults with zonal selectors as well as the Indian coach and captain while announcing a squads for the various tour and series. The selectors also get input from state associations about up and coming players to keep an eye on and are accordingly added to shadow or A tours for the national team.