'So, the one tour and one or two caps players from other states keep getting picked. Let’s hope that he (Siddhesh) doesn’t suffer the same fate as Amol Muzumdar who scored a mountain of runs in first-class cricket but never got the India cap. It’s not the individual, but Indian cricket that suffered with such biased and myopic decisions,' Sunil Gavaskar said
Mumbai: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has accused the BCCI selectors of bias for ignoring the performances of Mumbai players while choosing the Indian squad.
The legendary Indian batsman has questioned why Mumbai’s Siddhesh Lad wasn't selected in the India A team despite scoring tons of runs in the domestic circuit. Siddhesh has scored 21 first-class fifties and six centuries at an average of 43.39.
Gavaskar also said that he hopes Siddhesh's fate doesn’t turn up to be like former Mumbai player Amol Muzumdar, who had smashed 11,167 runs in 171 first-class matches but never played for India.
Despite scoring 30 tons and 50 half centuries in the domestic circuit, Mazumdar was never given a call-up to the national side.
The former cricketer wrote in a column for Mid-Day, “There’s another Mumbai lad who invariably scores when his team is in trouble, and that is Siddhesh Lad. But despite his consistency, he never finds himself even in the ‘A’ teams as the bias against Mumbai players is so deep-set.”
“So, the one tour and one or two caps players from other states keep getting picked. Let’s hope that he (Siddhesh) doesn’t suffer the same fate as Amol Muzumdar who scored a mountain of runs in first-class cricket but never got the India cap. It’s not the individual, but Indian cricket that suffered with such biased and myopic decisions,” the 69-year-old added.
Read Exclusive COVID-19 Coronavirus News updates, at MyNation.