Former Indian selectors Salil Ankola and Chetan Sharma have publicly discussed Jalaj Saxena’s continued exclusion from the national team, acknowledging their own roles on past selection panels.
Saxena remains one of domestic cricket’s most consistent performers, yet a call-up to India continues to elude him despite an exceptional career in the Ranji Trophy. This season, he moved from Kerala to Maharashtra, drawing attention on the opening day with a strong batting display against his former team.
During the match, a graphic highlighted that only four players in Ranji Trophy history have achieved 7,000 runs and 400 wickets, reigniting debates about Saxena’s prolonged absence from the national side.
Chetan said, “Salil, you were surprised, but I must tell you one thing that we both were selectors at one point and the fingers were raised on you too.”
Salil reminded Chetan during the discussion that he had served as chairman of the selection committee.
Saxena began his domestic career in 2005-06 with Madhya Pradesh before moving to Kerala for the 2016-17 season, where he played until 2024-25 across 125 matches. During his time with Kerala, he scored 3,153 runs and took 352 wickets across formats, including 2,252 first-class runs with three centuries and 269 wickets at an average of 20.68, with 23 five-wicket hauls.
Over his entire first-class career, Jalaj has amassed more than 7,000 runs with 14 centuries and claimed 484 wickets, including 34 five-wicket hauls, at an average of 25.48. Despite these achievements, the all-rounder has never represented India, with spin all-rounders like Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Axar Patel being the recent stars keeping him out of contention.