New Delhi, April 15 Former India captain Anjum Chopra said she doesn’t see any rationale behind Anushka Sharma's call-up for the upcoming five-game series against South Africa, saying an India cap is ‘worth gold’ and must not be handed out hastily. Anjum also noted that left-arm spinner Radha Yadav isn’t a surprise to her as she has failed to cement her place despite repeated opportunities.
Right-handed batter Anushka had a memorable maiden Women’s Premier League (WPL) stint this year, amassing 177 runs in seven games at an average of 25.28 and strike-rate of 129.19 for Gujarat Giants. She went on to make 116 runs in five innings at an average of 23.2 and strike-rate of 104.50 in India 'A' winning the Women’s Asia Cup Rising Stars title in Bangkok.
"I don't see a rationale at all. I'm not saying that Anushka is not a quality player - she is one and showed immense promise in the WPL in the first two-three games that she played before she got injured. After the injury, she came back and to have that kind of an experience with the best of Australian cricketers like Gardner and Mooney and doing well, holding her ground - it was excellent.
"What I saw of her, I personally feel she's of immense quality. I am also very happy that in this WPL, we've also identified at least a couple of more players which India would want to invest in and that investment got translated into the India-A squad for the Emerging Asia Cup, which the team went to Bangkok to play and eventually won," she said.
"Over there also, she played a quality knock - a 40-odd score in that first game against UAE, though India went on to lose. But she played really well through the series. So she has been rewarded with a step up to an India tour, which is very nice. But immediately to get rewarded to an India tour - I'm not saying it's a bad move - but is it really required?” said Anjum in an exclusive conversation with IANS.
She also stressed that an India cap carried an inherent sanctity that had to be protected. “If you start rewarding India caps in such a quick manner, and if you don't play them, when you come back and drop them from this Indian team, then what does a player's psyche say - Am I not good enough? Was I given ample opportunity? What should I do now?
"An India cap is of immense value. It is worth gold. Anyone who gets that should have that kind of pride associated with it. But if it's not there, they should have that feeling that I'm not there because I did not do well. The reason I've given this example of Anushka Sharma is because she's very new to the setup.
"Give her time to settle and find her feet. You don't want to give her that opportunity so quickly. If she is unable to handle it, what happens then? Because you don't want to lose a player. You build on the strength of a player and what have we done with Vaishnavi Sharma? Dropped her," she said.
Citing Vaishnavi and Bharti Fulmali, who also didn’t get to play in the T20Is in Australia, as examples, Anjum warned against a pattern making of rushed selections. "What are we doing with Bharti Fulmali? We've taken her, not given her an opportunity specifically for T20s, and I don't see her getting a chance again.
“You took her to Australia saying she's done really well in WPL - was that selection valid? Now, you have not played her in Australia and taken her to South Africa. If she gets an opportunity in those five matches and does well, will she be on the plane for the upcoming T20 World Cup?
"You already have Bharti Fulmali waiting in the wings. Now you've put Anushka Sharma behind her to wait in the wings. Why would you want to do it? Are you diluting the value of an India cap? Maybe Anushka is that star in the making - that's agreed. But what we're discussing is - was it really required?" she said.
Adding that selectors should not hesitate to travel with a squad of 14 if a quality 15th player was not available in their view, Anjum stated the thought process behind such selections remained unclear to her. "What is the agenda? To give someone an opportunity to go and play for India, or just be a passenger? Don't we have enough passengers on this team? At the end of the day, I would still say there is an immense value that one has to put with an India cap.
"It's difficult for me to understand. Are we just fitting 15? If we don't have a valuable player to add, take 14 - that also is an option. You don't have to just fit in. If you just have to fit in, then there is Radha Yadav - I would have probably said the same thing about her. Why are we taking Radha Yadav as well?
“But there has to be some value attached to an India cap because every cricketer goes through that and everybody values it. I'm not saying that Anushka or Radha or anybody else will not value it - they will. But what is the thought process? I do not understand," she said.
On the omission of Radha, who had a fruitful tour of England when India won T20I and ODI series last year, Anjum felt the left-arm spin bowling all-rounder has simply not done enough to guarantee a place in the playing eleven, making her inclusion in a 15-member squad difficult to justify when Sree Charani is already the first-choice spinner.
The omission comes on the back of Radha having a strong time in RCB winning WPL 2026 - scoring 114 runs in 9 matches, including a knock of 66. But with the ball, Radha finished with two wickets. In captaining India A to the Women’s Asia Cup Rising Stars title, Radha made 75 runs with the bat, but picked 10 wickets at five runs per over.
In West Zone becoming runners-up in the Senior Women’s Inter Zonal Multi Day Trophy, Radha made 224 runs in four innings, with a highest score of 108 and took 12 wickets with the ball to be at second place in both batting and bowling charts.
"Going by all these stats, yes, Radha has done really well and I personally feel she's a quality cricketer. But if you have to pick 15 and you already have a Sree Charani in that lineup - in the last series, if I remember, there was no Radha, but they had taken Vaishnavi Sharma. She didn't play T20Is, played one ODI and then she's out of the squad.
"Radha Yadav has spent a lot of time with this Indian team. Sadly, she's not been able to cement her place. I will not go into whether it's X's or Y's fault, but she's not been able to cement her place. That's why on the tour to England, initially, her name was not there - when Shuchi Upadhyay was injured, Radha Yadav was drafted into the squad for the England tour at the last minute.
"She came back in the 50-over format for India and played a few games in the World Cup. Not that she did badly, but I don't think that was enough for anyone to feel that she'll be a part of the playing eleven. If she's not going to be a part of the playing eleven, then she can be a part of the fifteen. If she's there, it's good. If she's not there, it's okay," she said.
She concluded by saying that Radha not being at her optimal best with the ball in the shortest format is stopping her from being picked in T20Is. "But my point of view is that if she's not going to be in the playing eleven, then yes, Sree Charani - because she is going to be in the playing eleven - gets the nod.
“Now, if Radha is not there and Vaishnavi Sharma was taken and dropped, why then was she taken in the first place? There was always an option of not taking her. So in terms of a left-arm spinner, probably this is my answer - she's not done well enough.
“She's a good bat, yes. She's a very good fielder, yes. But is she going to be one of those bowlers who you will rely on to bowl those four overs? If that is a question mark, then obviously there is a question mark in terms of picking her also."
--IANS
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