Vidarbha have now won Ranji Trophy for the second consecutive year and coach Chandrakant Pandit has said that the selectors should give his players a chance to play for India.
Vidarbha defended the Ranji title after beating Saurasthra by 80 runs in the final in Nagpur.
“I feel that the boys must get justice for their performances at the national level,” Chandrakant Pandit was quoted as saying by Times of India.
“In the earlier days, when Mumbai, Delhi and Tamil Nadu would perform like this their players would be rewarded with national berths. I am sure that this selection committee will think along those lines too. If not the India team, then at least these boys deserve a place in India A.”
Last year, seven players from the winning squad played the Duleep Trophy but only Faiz Fazal got a chance to debut for India.
“If you are only going to pick players who do well in the IPL then why will the players give importance to domestic cricket,” Pandit said.
Apart from Fazal, Pandit says wicketkeeper Akshay Wadkar and spinner Aditya Sarwate should get a look-in in the India A squad.
“Wadkar hit three hundreds last season, and scored one this year too. Aditya Sarwate took 29 wickets last season, and 55 this year. And he’s performed with the bat too. These players deserve an opportunity,” he said.
After upsetting Delhi last season, Vidarbha once again proved their mettle. It was another feat for the 57-year-old former India player as he won his sixth title in seven years.
After leading Rajasthan to the title in 2011-12, Pandit won the title with Mumbai in 2015-16 before the two titles with Vidarbha. Mumbai finished runners up in 2016-17 season.
Pandit said that this title win was important to keep the reputation of the team. “Obviously, no one expected us to win in the first year. In the second year, there was pressure to retain the title to keep our reputation.
“We were playing against better teams in a better pool. But we followed the same processes and routines that we stuck to last season.”