Are Bhuvneshwar And Ravindra Victims Of Perceptions In Indian Cricket?

The most important players of the team should be playing irrespective of conditions as there is a touch of genius...

- Harshit Anand

“Indian cricket is built mostly on per-ceptions,” remarked India’s cerebral spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin on the sidelines of a Deodhar trophy game when asked about the wrist vs. finger spinner debate.

Perception is the way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted. Ashwin might have given the aforementioned statement in context to something else but it’s as relevant and true as anything. Especially, in terms of team selections, perception lies at the heart of decision making. It is a highly individualistic thing.

When it comes to the sport of cricket, very few things fascinate people as much as selections as they can make or break a player’s or team’s fortunes. It can define the cricketing legacy of a nation for decades in a positive or negative manner. We don’t need to look too further than the story of Sachin Tendulkar.

He was selected at the tender age of 16. Sachin represented India even before he could vote or drive a car or bike legally. But he went on to inspire a whole generation of cricketers with his magnificence. History will always be kind to the selection committee of Raj Singh Dungarpur, Akash Lal, Ramesh Saxena, Gundappa Viswanath, and Naren Tamhane.

After all, they put their money on a young Sachin when they could have decided to keep him in the loop but select him later as he gained more experience. Very rarely players are selected so young. But they played a selection punt on him. And it worked wonders. Their perception or foresight gave India a player who turned out to be the most loved son of the nation.