Robin Uthappa questions selectors after series loss against South Africa

Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa has questioned the selectors for picking players in the Test team based on the performances in the Indian Premier League. Uthappa said it is unfair when a player is selected in the Test team on the basis of the performances in the white-ball formats.

The likes of Sai Sudharsan and Nitish Kumar Reddy haven’t done anything substantial in first-class cricket but they have been backed by the selectors in the red-ball format. Sudharsan top-scored in IPL 2025 with 759 runs but he has a first-class average of under 40. Furthermore, the left-hander has failed to grab his opportunity with both hands while batting at number three.

Robin Uthappa said on his YouTube Channel, “This has been a perennial thing that’s bothered me about Indian cricket. There are guys who are picked for Test cricket on the back of IPL performances. I felt really bad about that when I was playing because I would work my ass off to score runs in domestic cricket just to get that Test cap, but that never happened. There’d be guys who’d get picked ahead of me based on white-ball performances.”

On the other hand, head coach Gautam Gambhir has received a lot of criticism after India suffered a 0-2 whitewash against South Africa. However, Uthappa said nobody is talking about the players, who could not perform as per the expectations. The former KKR opener said India need specialist players in the red-ball format.

“What’s good is, a lot of what Gauti is doing is working in white-ball cricket. Does that mean it will also work in red-ball cricket? Not necessarily. I definitely think you need specialists there.

“But I think one of the things that we are all missing is the fact that no one is really talking about the players and the ownership that the players should take. Everyone is going after the coach. A lot of valid points are there about his style or the discrepancies that exist in Test cricket, but very little has been spoken about what the players are doing. I think ownership needs to be taken a little bit more by the players,” he added.

India will next take on South Africa in a three-match ODI series, starting Sunday.