Leaving a domestic fixture midway for national duty - Is it justified?

So earlier today, Ajinkya Rahane was hit on his right index finger during a practice session, and he was immediately ruled out of the fourth Test against England that starts tomorrow. This meant that India’s team management had to include Karnataka batsman, Manish Pandey, in the squad for the Mumbai Test.

India’s Test squad has been marred with injuries in recent times, so a fringe player replacing an injured Rahane wasn’t something that seemed new to the Indian cricket fans. But not on this occasion. As Pandey was called up, a rare event took place.

Manish Pandey is currently playing a Ranji Trophy match for Karnataka in Mohali and he will be leaving the ongoing game mid-way to turn up for the national side. In fact, with Karnataka batting and having lost a wicket, Pandey is supposed to walk in next whenever a wicket falls for his state side tomorrow. Just this time though, when that wicket will fall, Pandey will be sitting wearing an India jersey in Mumbai, and not going out to bat for his domestic side.

In fact, Pandey isn’t the only player who will be leaving a domestic fixture midway for national duty. Shardul Thakur is also flying to Mumbai from Rajkot, leaving his Ranji game against Punjab after the first day’s play. Shardul has been called up as a backup for Mohammed Shami, who might not play in Mumbai due to a recurring knee injury. In fact, Thakur has already bowled 18 overs for Mumbai, and has even taken two crucial wickets.

Leaving an ongoing domestic fixture for a national exigency should not create a debate among the connoisseurs of the game; after all, the national team is up and above any commitment for a professional cricketer. But having said that, it is also interesting to delve at the decision to call up Pandey and Shardul.

Pandey is unlikely to feature in the playing eleven tomorrow. If Virat Kohli’s words during the press conference earlier today are anything to go by, KL Rahul will be opening the batting along with Murali Vijay, and Karun Nair and Parthiv Patel will keep their spot from the Mohali game. Given Pandey won’t play, how justifiable is it to deprive a domestic side of its star batsman in the middle of a crucial game?

Karnataka is currently at the second spot in Group B with 30 points, close on the heels of Jharkhand, who are on 32 points. A victory in Mohali against Maharashtra is likely to put them at the top of Group B, and also gives them a chance to avoid a strong Tamil Nadu side in the quarter-final. For Karnataka, this is an extremely vital game and can decide their fate in the Ranji Trophy.

With Pandey’s call-up leaving Karnataka with just 10-men, their side not only loses a crucial batsman, but also possibly an easier quarter-final fixture. And all that just for India’s national team to gain a 12^th man for the Mumbai Test.

When you look at Shardul Thakur’s call-up, the decision is even more debatable. Thakur has been roped in as a ’backup’ to Shami, when Bhuvneshwar Kumar is already there and is most likely to replace Shami in Mumbai, if Shami is unable to recover before the morning of the match.

Shardul is vital to Mumbai’s chances of staging an outright win against Punjab and keeping them at the top of Group A. Shardul’s call-up, once again, makes little sense.

But Pandey and Shardul’s call-up isn’t the first instance when a player left a Ranji game mid-way for national duty. Earlier in November, KL Rahul left his Ranji game against Rajasthan on November 16 (the final day of the 4-day game) to turn up for India for the Vizag Test on November 17. Only on that occasion, KL Rahul got to play as he opened the batting replacing Gautam Gambhir.

Pandey’s exclusion has also posed major problems for Karnataka; they have been refused a replacement for their star batsman by the match-referee Pranab Roy. This means Karnataka will be a batsman-less for the remainder of the match.

Earlier, Pandey, due to his immediate call-up, had to travel to New Delhi from Chandigarh by road at around 4 pm since there were no direct flights from Chandigarh to Mumbai citing inclement weather. He is expected to reach Mumbai by midnight, after taking a flight from the National Capital. Given the extensive travel, it is all the more likely that Pandey will not feature in the playing eleven tomorrow.

For all the latest news and happenings in the world of cricket, visit Sportskeeda Cricket.Watch Manish Pandey take a spectacular catch in the Ranji Trophy: