Cricket fans have slammed former India selectors Chetan Sharma and Salil Ankola after their controversial comments about domestic cricket veteran Jalaj Saxena during a Ranji Trophy 2025-26 match. The incident occurred on Wednesday at Greenfield Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram, when Maharashtra faced Kerala.
Maharashtra had a disastrous start, losing four wickets for just five runs. Saxena, making his debut for Maharashtra, walked out to bat amid the collapse. When his impressive First-Class cricket statistics were displayed on screen, the commentators expressed surprise that he had never represented India.
Salil Ankola remarked that it was “very surprising” that Saxena never played for the national team. Chetan Sharma then reminded him that both had been former selectors during the period when Saxena was consistently performing.
“Surprisingly, both of us were the selectors,” joked Chetan, while Salil laughed along, acknowledging the situation.
The clip quickly went viral on social media, and fans criticized the ex-selectors for mocking Saxena despite his stellar career. Many highlighted that Saxena’s contributions to Indian domestic cricket deserved respect.
About Jalaj Saxena:
Made his First-Class debut for Madhya Pradesh in 2005-06, moved to Kerala in 2016-17, and recently joined Maharashtra.
Played 150 First-Class matches, scoring 7,060 runs and taking 484 wickets.
Only Indian after Kapil Dev, Madan Lal, and Ravindra Jadeja to surpass 7,000 runs and 450 wickets in First-Class cricket.
Holds the Ranji Trophy record for scoring over 6,000 runs and taking more than 400 wickets.
Fans argued that despite Saxena’s consistent domestic performances, he was repeatedly overlooked in favor of other players, making the ex-selectors’ remarks appear dismissive and disrespectful.
