Auqib Nabi joins India nets ahead of one-off Afghanistan Test, yet remains outside official squad

SELECTION POLITICS, NOT MERIT: Why Indian Cricket's Gatekeepers Block New Talent

India's cricket establishment just showed its hand again.

Auqib Nabi — record-breaking Ranji season, proven domestic dominance — trains in nets for the Afghanistan Test but sits outside the squad. This is not about cricket. This is about access, connections, and who sits at the selection table.

The pattern is brutal. Young talent earns it on the field. The establishment decides anyway. Nabi's Ranji numbers were undeniable. Yet selectors found reasons — "balance," "experience," "long-term planning." Translation: the door stays closed unless you know someone.

This is exactly how Indian cricket suffocates. We have world-class domestic cricket. Players prove themselves. Then a 15-member squad is decided by a closed room in Delhi, and 90% of India's cricket talent never gets a fair audition.

Afghanistan one-off Test is not the point. The point is: how many Nabi-level cricketers have we buried because the selection funnel was clogged with legacy names and political equations?

India's bench strength is our real competitive advantage globally. But only if merit actually wins.

QUESTION FOR YOU:

Have you ever seen genuine talent in your city — sport, business, anything — blocked not by lack of ability but by lack of connections?

Jai Hind. — RDS | t.me/DecodedByRDS