There has to be continuity and consistency in selection: Sourav Ganguly

Demanding ldquoconsistency and continuityrdquo in the selection process Sourav Ganguly stated that he doesnrsquot understand the thought process behind handing Ajinkya Rahane Test vicecaptaincy for India vs West Indies after him spending nearly 18 months on the sidelinesRahane 35 was out of favour for oneandahalf years but was Indias best batter in the World Test Championship final against Australia with scores of 89 and 46 at the Oval earlier this monthJust one Test old after making a comeback the national selection committee headed by interim chief Shiv Sunder Das reappointed Rahane as Rohit Sharmas deputy for the West Indies Test seriesSo was it not ideal to groom someone like Shubman Gill for the roleYeah I think so Ganguly told PTI during an exclusive interaction from LondonWhile he didnt term Rahanes ascendancy as a step backward he didnt term it as a pragmatic decisionI wont say its a step backward You have been out for 18 months then you play a Test and you become a vicecaptain I dont understand the thought process behind it There is Ravindra Jadeja who has been there for a long time and a certainty in Test matches he is a candidatebut to just come back and straightway become vicecaptain after 18 months I dont understand My only thing is that selection shouldnt be hot and cold There has to be continuity and consistency in selection the former India skipper saidFollowing the World Test Championship loss the Indian selectors have hit the transition button by introducing fresh faces and excluding a veteran like Cheteshwar Pujara Ganguly wants that communication channel should be clear with a player of his stature who has featured in more than 100 Tests for IndiaSelectors should have a clear idea about him Pujara Do they need him to play Test cricket anymore or do they want to continue with youngsters and communicate it to him Somebody like Pujara cant be dropped then picked dropped again and then picked Same with Ajinkya Rahane also the straighttalking Ganguly saidSarfaraz Khan deserves a chance to prove his mettleSarfaraz Khan Pic PTIGanguly disagrees with the notion that even to get a nod in Test cricket one needs to have a solid IPL like Ruturaj Gaikwad hadHe said a prolific batter like Sarfaraz Khan who could not do well in IPL should get a chance to prove himselfI think Yashasvi Jaiswal has scored tons of runs in Ranji Trophy Irani Trophy Duleep Trophy I think thats why he is in the squad I feel for Sarfaraz Khan At some point he should get an opportunity for the amount of runs that he has scored in past three yearsAnd same thing for Abhimanyu Easwaran for the tons of runs he has scored in last five to six years I am surprised that both of them have been omitted but they should get a chance in future But Yashasvi Jasiwal is a good selectionHe has seen Sarfaraz from close quarters as Director of Cricket at Delhi Capitals and he isnt amused with the perception that he cant play fast bowlingIf you dont play him Sarfaraz against fast bowling how do you know he counteredIf he had problems he wouldnt have scored so many runs all around India I personally feel he has no problems against fast bowling and he should be given an opportunityAlso Read Test snub needles Sarfaraz Khan againSo does he feel that we need a big name as chairman to stand up to big names in the Indian team managementI dont want to comment on that to be honestNo reason why one cant manage playing both IPL and WTC finalThe World Test Championship final is always slated after two months of IPL and there is a school of thought that BCCI should speak to IPL franchises in order to monitor workload of playersGanguly who has been on both sides of the fence feels it is not a practical solutionI dont agree with this theory Ajinkya Rahane also played IPL and he played very well during IPL and World Test Championship final So I dont believe in this theory Some of the Australian boys Cameron Green David Warner played well in IPL also and did well in World Test ChampionshipAfter IPL finished there was enough time to acclimatise to Test cricket They went to England and they played It used to happen in the past You played ODI cricket and you played Test cricket things used to happen very very quickly and so I dont believe its an issue So I believe that even if you play IPL you should have the ability to adjust your technique and temperament and do well in a Test matchBCCI and ICC did good job with choice of World Cup venuesWhile a few traditional centres like Mohali and Nagpur have missed out Ganguly praised both ICC and BCCI bigwigs for good choice of venuesIts a great schedule and the allocation of the matches has been fantastic BCCI and ICC have done a great job to give correct matches to correct venues and I know it is going to be a tremendous World Cup I know how BCCI organises the IPL they will make it a spectacle he concludedWith PTI inputsAlso Read ODI World Cup 2023 Schedule Dates and venues announced Ahmedabad to host final