Veteran Delhi pacer insists he wouldn’t be part of Ranji squad unless guaranteed a spot in playing XI

He shook hands with each of his team mates and wished them luck. Made to sit out for four days and watch Delhi bowlers go through the grind from the sidelines, veteran fast bowler Amit Bhandari seemed to have had enough.

Expecting a similar treatment in the home match against Mumbai, starting at Ferozeshah Kotla on Sunday, Bhandari bade the team goodbye, in case they didn't see him again in the dressing room. On Friday morning, the bowler with 300-plus scalps for Delhi made it clear to the senior selection committee that unless he's required to play in the XI, he should not be picked in the squad.

Narwal included
With coach Vijay Dahiya and skipper Aakash Chopra giving no guarantee, the selectors had little choice, excluding Bhandari from the 15-member squad and drafted in seamer Sumit Narwal.

"Horses for courses, that's what I will say," selection committee chairman Chetan Chauhan told Sportline. "The team management decided they cannot play Bhandari on this wicket against Mumbai, so we didn't pick him. We don't want to humiliate a senior player by making him sit out.

“Whenever we think he's the man, we will call him. It's not end of the road for Bhandari. We won't allow a senior player to exit like that," he added.

Anil Jain, another selector, concurred. "Bhandari still has the potential to get wickets, but he cannot sit out like that. We had asked the coach and skipper that if Bhandari has to be selected, then he will have to be played. I have no idea why they backtracked from their words, this isn't the way to handle senior players," Jain said.

... contd.