A columnist for Shekhar Gupta’s The Print, Dilip Mandal took to Twitter today, 24th November 2022, to trend the ‘casteist BCCI’ hashtag. Apparently, Dilip Mandal was upset that Surya Kumar Yadav is not a part of the ODI squad during the Indian tour of Bangladesh and he decided to blame it on the casteism of the selectors and the BCCI on the whole.
Surya Kumar Yadav, the current Number 1 T20 batsman, who has been playing cricket non-stop this year, has finally been given rest for the ODI leg of the Bangladesh tour. Yadav, who has been playing cricket non-stop since the IPL earlier this year, finally got the much-deserved rest during the upcoming series, but Dilip Mandal had to find a caste angle to it.
Notably, Indian selectors have rested every player during the past few months as they have tried to manage the immense workload of the modern players thanks to the non-stop cricket. Even the support staff, like the coach Rahul Dravid got rest as VVS Laxman stepped in as the coach for a couple of series during this time, including the ongoing tour of New Zealand.
In his long tirade against casteism in BCCI, and even attacking one of world’s greatest ever batsmen in Sunil Gavaskar, Mandal also bizarrely accused Ravi Shastri for keeping Surya Kumar Yadav out of the Bangladesh tour. Ravi Shastri is a commentator these days having served as Indian coach in the past.
सूर्य कुमार यादव को टीम से बाहर रखने के दो विलेन। @RaviShastriOfc और @ImRo45 #Casteist_BCCI pic.twitter.com/xRqcte42TZ
— Dilip Mandal (@Profdilipmandal) November 24, 2022
बीमारी पुरानी है। जिनको महान बनाया गया वो उतने महान नहीं थे। सुनील गावस्कर ने वन डे वर्ल्ड कप में इंग्लैंड के खिलाफ भारत के लिए 60 ओवर में 36 रन बनाए थे। टीम हार रही थी पर ओपनिंग करने आया बंदा न रन बना रहा था, न जाने का नाम ले रहा था। इंडिया की बुरी हार हुई। #Casteist_BCCI pic.twitter.com/XbNGmzONy4
— Dilip Mandal (@Profdilipmandal) November 24, 2022
Someone who doesn’t even know that Shastri stopped being an Indian coach quite a while back commenting on cricket is laughable as it is, but Mandal also accused BCCI of casteism for keeping Sanju Samson out of the ODI squad. Sanju, who was part of the Indian T20 squad in New Zealand, averages 32 in List A cricket, the domestic version of the 50 overs ODIs. An average of 32 is hardly making the case for selection to the national side, and in 114 List A games, Sanju has only one hundred to his name.
Sanju’s record in T20s is obviously a lot better than his 50-over performances, and hence, he is in or around the squad in the format.
BCCI selectors have not been perfect, especially in recent times when they have made quite a few strange selections but accusing them of casteism for giving a much-deserved rest to a player is as bizarre as it can get.
