Many Times I Have Heard That I'm A Frustrated Cricketer Who Is Venting Out His Angst – Sheldon Jackson Slams Selectors

Updated - 26 Aug 2022, 05:09 PM

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The 35-year-old Saurashtra batter Sheldon Jackson has openly expressed his frustration over his non-selection in India A squad for the upcoming four-day matches against New Zealand and his exclusion from the West Zone squad for Duleep Trophy.

Sheldon Jackson, who averages over 50 in first-class cricket, has been a regular performer in domestic cricket. He scored 313 runs in 3 matches, including 4 fifties, in the recently-concluded Ranji Trophy season.

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Also, he has scored over 2000 runs in the last 3 domestic seasons. His brilliant domestic run also helped him bag an Indian Premier League contract. However, he failed to perform well in the tournament in the 2022 season for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as he scored just 23 runs in 5 matches.

I have a right to believe and dream that if i have performed for 3 continuous season, i may get picked on the basis of my performances not age, tired of hearing this that im a good player and performer but im old?, im 35 not 75 ??

— Sheldon Jackson (@ShelJackson27) August 24, 2022

In an interview with Sportstar, he lashed out at selectors for not even considering him for selection in the West Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy. Sheldon Jackson said that he has even heard him being labelled as a “frustrated cricketer”. He elaborated:

“Many times I have heard that he is a frustrated cricketer who is venting out his angst. I am a very happy cricketer and a happy person who has a loving family to go back to. I enjoy my life and I feel asking questions for which we don’t get answers is justified as a professional. That doesn’t have anything to do with my space of mind.

“If I am thinking of playing for the country and I am not even picked for the Duleep Trophy because someone feels I am too old, how am I going to reach over there? I was expecting to get picked for India A. There’s nothing wrong in expecting it, and you don’t pick me for Duleep Trophy is inexplicable. As a professional, you always strive to upgrade yourself to a higher level. It’s demoralising when it’s stalled for reasons beyond my control.”

Why is age even a criteria to get picked? – Sheldon Jackson

The veteran batter Sheldon Jackson further said that the 25 to 30 per cent of domestic cricketers, who are in their mid-30s, would be devastated to see age being criteria for selection in the squad. He added that the selectors just cite age as a reason for the non-selection of some players when they don’t have any other reason.

“Why is age even a criteria to get picked? If it is, they are taking away the dreams of at least 25 to 30 per cent of domestic cricketers who are in their mid-30s. I am not being the voice for them but I am speaking myself. You cannot stop someone from dreaming of playing at a higher level. I have been advocating this for quite a long time now.

“Now when I am 35, I am being tagged as old but I have been hearing this since I was 31. Now they have picked more than six who are older than 30, so how is it justified then? Back then, I was told no one above 30 was picked.

“But when a performer is picked for the country in his mid-30s based on his performance, why isn’t it adopted for domestic cricket? I think it’s just become a ploy to not pick someone. When you don’t really have any other reason, you cite his age,” he added.