Sachin Tendulkar bats for performance based selection, says 'age shouldn't be criteria'

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has gone on to say that an individual's performance should be the criteria for his selection in the Indian team irrespective of his age. Sachin then talked about the remarkable performances showcased by Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav on the 22 yards despite both of them having an age difference of almost 10 years. While Ishan is 22 years old, Surya is 30.

'It is about picking capable players': Sachin Tendulkar

“One thing I would like to clarify here is that it is not just about picking youngsters. It is about picking capable players, you are talking about the Indian cricket team, age should not be the criteria. It is about what you are able to deliver and that is what matters, not age. If somebody is able to perform and may not be a young cricketer, but if you are able to perform you should be playing for India. Talking about youngsters, if you are able to perform then he rightfully deserves it. But if he is not able to perform, then maybe there are options you can look at. It is just not about age, it is a misconception that you should promote youngsters. I feel we should be picking our best 11. We should be picking our best 14-15 member squad and the best balance is known to the selection committee and it should be left to them,” said Tendulkar while speaking to ANI.

“As far as Suryakumar and Ishan are concerned, they both have done really well, they have not looked out of place at all and there is a reason for that. They played against all these guys a number of times. Yesterday, one of the commentators said that Surya has played against Archer and Stokes like as good as playing against Rajasthan Royals,” the Master Blaster added.
“For us, when I went to Pakistan and Australia, I was playing all those bowlers for the first time and that was at the international level, so here the beauty is that they have played against top bowlers in the IPL and then playing against them for India, it is a big difference, you know what to expect from them and that is what has happened. That is the beauty of our structure and we can noticeably see that our bench strength is really good,” the 2011 World Cup winner further added.

Kishan & Yadav's performances in England T20I series

Ishan had a dream start to his international cricketing career as he scored a match-winning half-century on Sunday night. The southpaw's impactful knock of a 32-ball 56 included five boundaries and four maximums at a strike rate of 175. There were a lot of expectations from Kishan in the third T20I against England at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad but unfortunately, his stay in the middle did not last too long as he walked back to the dugout after having scored four runs off nine deliveries. The youngster was dismissed just before Powerplay as India found themselves in a spot of bother at 24/3. He was dropped for the fourth T20I.

Yadav on the other hand was handed over his maiden India cap on Sunday but did not get a chance to bat. He had to warm the bench the following game but, made the most of his opportunities when he came out to bat in what was a must-win contest for India on Thursday evening as he scored a 31-ball 57 at a strike rate of nearly 184 including six boundaries and three maximums which eventually turned out to be a match-winning knock. 

(With ANI inputs)