"Performing Well In IPL...": Ex-India Star's Big Message To T20 World Cup Hopefuls

Irfan Pathan, the former India left-arm fast-bowler, believes performances from certain players in the ongoing IPL 2024 season shouldn't guarantee anyone's automatic selection for the upcoming Men's T20 World Cup happening in the West Indies and USA from June 1. Pathan was replying to the notion of recency bias being a factor in India's squad selection for the T20 World Cup. "I was part of the Indian team when Cheeka sir (Krishnamachari Srikkanth) was a selector. I got injured and was dropped from the team after that, despite having played for India. No, no, that's the truth. But I'll tell you, I have no qualms at all. I have great respect for him, but I'm saying, at that time, the situation was different. The mindset, perhaps of the captain or the selection committee, was different.

"But let's talk about the 2010s. Wriddhiman Saha was literally out of the team for a year due to injury. When he recovered, he returned to the squad and made it into the Playing XI after a year. A year is indeed a long period of time. The Indian team considered what he had contributed in the past before his injury. They didn't want to undervalue that; rather, they wanted to acknowledge it. So, they decided to give him some matches and see how he performs,” said Pathan on ‘Ticket to World Cup' episode of Star Sports Press Room Show.

Further speaking about how Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee should steer clear of recency bias, Pathan, the Player of the Match in 2007 T20 World Cup final, said, "When you're in a selection committee, you shouldn't forget a player's previous contributions for India, even before the IPL. You should never forget that, and I'm not referring to events from too far back. This should always be taken into