Former Indian cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar lashed out at the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, and Indian team management, headed by Gautam Gambhir, for not giving enough value to Ranji Trophy performances.
Speaking on RevSportz, Vengsarkar reckoned that the Ranji Trophy performances are not being valued properly despite players like Auqib Nabi performing pretty well in domestic cricket. The J&K pacer scalped 60 wickets in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 with seven five-wicket hauls in 10 games.
“If you feel that these domestic games are not criteria for selection to the Indian team, then scrap the Ranji Trophy. Don’t play the Ranji Trophy. Why do you want to play it? These players are working hard. They are winning matches. They are taking wickets. If they are not rewarded with an India cap, then it is a waste of time,” Vengsarkar said on RevSportz.
“There is another guy called Auqib Nabi, who did so well for Jammu and Kashmir. He almost single-handedly helped them win the Ranji Trophy. I think these players should be given an opportunity because he has taken more than 100 wickets in two seasons. That’s a hell of a lot of wickets,” he added.
While Nabi was included in the Test squad for the recent Sri Lankan tour, he didn’t get a chance in the XI. Later, Nabi received his maiden ODI call-up recently for the upcoming home ODI series against the West Indies, starting September 27.
India’s ODI team vs WI: Shubman Gill [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul [VC], Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Naman Dhir.
