From the past few days the social media is buzzing with various posts on Arjun Tendulkar’s selection over Pranav Dhanawade for the U-16 West Zone side. Some say it was injustice done towards Pranav as he is a driver’s son and that Arjun’s recent form has not been great. But here is the real truth.
Mumbai Cricket Association selects team of different age groups Under 14, Under 16, Under 19, Under 23, Ranji Trophy, Women’s Under 19, Women’s under 23 & Women’s Senior Team from the west zone to participate in the national tournaments conducted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. These selections are based on the performances in the various selection tournaments conducted for different age groups. The Ranji Trophy team is selected on their performances in local cricket, particularly in the senior club tournaments and inter office tournaments. Pranav did not fulfill any of the criteria set by the MCA and he wasn’t a part of MCA during the selection trials. Whereas Arjun is a part of the MCA’s u-16 local team.
Arjun Tendulkar’s selection was made keeping in mind his performance in the Mumbai Cricket Association U16 Payyade Trophy held in November 2015 where he top-scored for the Sunil Gavaskar XI against the Rohit Sharma XI , posting 106 out of 218 at the venue named after his father, the Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana Grounds. He also smashed 116 of 42 balls in september 2014. Being a bowling- allrounder he has also chipped in with wickets in the past.
Pranav came into the limelight after scoring 1009 runs of 323 balls, and this innings of his came after the completion of the selection trials for the under 16 west zone team. So he was not eligible for the selection.
Arjun is an established player and has all the rights of being selected. Pranav still has a long way to go. But looking at the performance of these two young kids we can only say that the future of Indian cricket is in good hands.
FairPlay Enthusiast 