Former India batter Aakash Chopra has raised serious concerns over the national selectors’ approach to picking Test players, criticising the growing trend of rewarding IPL and white ball performers with Test caps despite limited domestic red ball experience, the comments follow India’s shocking home series whitewash against South Africa which has intensified scrutiny on team selections and long term planning
Speaking on his YouTube channel Chopra said that while rare exceptions will always exist Indian cricket cannot rely on potential alone to prepare players for the demands of Test cricket, he stressed that performing in first class cricket for at least two or three seasons must become the basic requirement before any player is considered for the longest format
Chopra cited examples from the recent Test squad pointing out that several young players including Sai Sudharsan Nitish Kumar Reddy and Dhruv Jurel entered the Test setup without playing sufficient domestic games, he noted that even though these players possess talent and promise they lack the deep red ball grounding needed to adapt quickly to challenging conditions in Test cricket
He highlighted the difference between established names and newcomers pointing out that even players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill who debuted after a fair number of first class matches needed time to settle at the highest level, Chopra questioned why selectors expect inexperienced players to succeed instantly when they have not been given the time to mature in the domestic circuit
According to him fast tracking talent purely on the basis of IPL success or white ball potential is risky and can create long term problems for the Test team, he warned that players rushed into the format without adequate exposure often struggle with adaptability especially when conditions become challenging and the pressure of Test cricket intensifies
Chopra urged the selectors to adopt a more disciplined and experienced based approach, he said players should prove their red ball consistency over multiple domestic seasons before a Test cap is awarded, while he agreed that there will always be rare cases where a player can be fast tracked he insisted that such exceptions cannot become the norm, he added that Indian cricket will benefit if seven or eight out of ten Test selections are based on sustained first class performance rather than potential or hype
