INDVSAUS: SANJAY MANJREKAR SLAMS BCCI OVER KL RAHUL'S SELECTION; SPARKS ANOTHER CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENT    

Hours after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named the T20I, Test and ODI squads for the upcoming international matches, Sanjay Manjrekar, the former Indian cricketer, was unhappy after KL Rahul's selection in the Tests squad.

Looking into Rahul's performance, he has been in stupendous form in recent times.

Despite captaining Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL), Rahul is also the Orange Cap holder.

Not just that, the KXIP captain also holds the record for the highest individual score by a captain in the history of the cash-rich league when he played against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and scored an unbeaten 132 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

After Rahul was picked up for the Tests matches based on his IPL numbers, it did not please Manjrekar at all.

Taking to his social media handle, former Indian cricketer turned commentator said; “You set a bad precedent when you recall a player for Tests on IPL performance. Especially if the player has been an abject failure in his last few Tests. Whether that player succeeds or fails is irrelevant, such selections massively demotivate Ranji players. #INDvsAUS.”

Meanwhile, his second tweet read as; "KL Rahul in his last 5 Test series – v SA – Avg 7.1 – v Eng – Avg 29 – v WI at home – Avg 18 – v Aus – Avg 10.7 – v WI – Avg 25.4 I say very lucky to get a recall based on IPL & white ball performance. But now let’s just hope he makes the most of this chance. Good luck to him!."

Taking a look at how Rahul played in August 2019 at Kingston in Jamaica. He last played a Test against the West Indies with an average of only 34.58 in 36 matches, which shows that he hasn’t quite lived up to potential in the longer format. 

So far, the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) captain has five centuries and 11 half-centuries after making his debut in 2014. Looking into these stats, Manjrekar pointed that going for Rahul indirectly meant demotivating the Ranji Trophy cricketers, who strain every sinew to make the national squad.

Check out the tweets below:

You set a bad precedent when you recall a player for Tests on IPL performance. Especially if the player has been an abject failure in his last few Tests. Whether that player succeeds or fails is irrelevant, such selections massively demotivate Ranji players. #INDvsAUS

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) October 27, 2020

KL Rahul in his last 5 Test series

- v SA - Avg 7.1

- v Eng - Avg 29

- v WI at home - Avg 18

- v Aus - Avg 10.7

- v WI - Avg 25.4

I say very lucky to get a recall based on IPL & white ball performance. But now let’s just hope he makes the most of this chance. Good luck to him! https://t.co/YBVbeut5jH

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) October 27, 2020