Former India opener Sadagoppan Ramesh has slammed the national team management and the selection committee over an apparent bias involving pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and seamer Harshit Rana.

Bumrah, 32, has been out of action since India’s ODI tour to England in July with a left knee injury that has bothered him since the T20 World Cup earlier this year, flaring up again. The ace speedster was subsequently ruled out of the two-match Test tour to Sri Lanka that India won 1-0 in his absence.

Bumrah is marked for a return later this week during India’s three-match T20Is against Afghanistan and the Asian Games competition in Japan. However, reports have suggested that the Gujarat pacer will have to turn up for a match or two in domestic cricket before being considered for India’s forthcoming Test assignments against New Zealand and Australia.

Meanwhile, Rana, who had missed a chunk of the 2026 calendar year due to a hamstring injury in February, returned to the T20I side in June without playing a competitive game. Exaggerating India’s injury woes, the Delhi bowler was then ruled out of action during India’s tour to Ireland and England with another hamstring injury.

‘Double standards’

As the selectors named Rana for a return to the T20I squad again without featuring in a competitive match, Ramesh slammed the decision and called out the double standards involving certain players.

“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 on his YouTube channel.

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Ramesh questioned how was Rana drafted back into the squad and said that the metrics for a comeback must be the same for all players.

“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 [Mohammad] 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.”

Mocking the Gautam Gambhir-led coaching management, Ramesh asked whether India would let go of Bumrah sooner for the sake of a transition.

“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,” said Ramesh.