Ramesh pointed out the apparent double standard in BCCI selection precedents.
Former India opener Sadagoppan Ramesh has openly criticized the Indian team management and the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar, accusing them of maintaining different yardsticks for different players.
Ramesh questioned how young pacer Harshit Rana was fast-tracked directly back into the national team after a major knee surgery without being required to prove his match fitness in domestic cricket first.
He pointed out the apparent double standard in BCCI selection precedents—where even established stars like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami have faced strict protocols regarding fitness return timelines.
Following a knee injury sustained during the England tour in July, national selectors have heavily monitored Jasprit Bumrah’s workload. Because he hasn't played red-ball cricket since the South Africa Test series, reports indicate the BCCI wants him to feature in a first-class match for India A before clearing him for the New Zealand Test series.
"It's being reported that because Bumrah hadn't played a red-ball game since November last year, he must play the India A games against New Zealand for selection. It's a fair rationale and the right decision. With him, it is a knee injury. Yet, you selected Harshit Rana straight from knee surgery into the squad. It's so clear that some rules are excused for some at different times," Ramesh said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
"Keep the parameters the same for everyone is what I am saying. In fact, the more established and proven cricketers are clearly the ones under the most pressure. Like Bumrah, even Shami was asked to prove his fitness. Yet, how Harshit Rana was picked straightaway from injury has been given no explanation, and the BCCI has never spoken about it," he added.
Harshit Rana played only five T20Is on the tour of Ireland and England before he broke down again with a hamstring injury. He has been picked in India’s squad for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan, subject to fitness clearance.
In the same video, Ramesh also mocked the Gautam Gambhir-led Indian team management for persisting with Bumrah in the Test squad, considering their opposition to superstar culture during the transition period.
"If this is the case, why not let Bumrah go in Tests? You anyway keep saying that in transition, we don't want superstar players and bravely decide to go without them. Like that, say we don't want Bumrah either. Obviously you can't because there is no other Bumrah," Ramesh remarked.