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Nayan Mongia eyes selector's role
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September 02, 2005 18:14 IST

Stung by the treatment meted out to him, former India stumper Nayan Mongia wants to don the gloves of a selector so that upcoming players do not "suffer" the way he did.

Mongia, in Gwalior for a Twenty20 tournament, said he is more interested in becoming a selector rather than in taking up coaching or commentary.

"I am more keen to become a selector. I do not want other players to suffer and be treated the way I was during my career," he said.

The wicketkeeper-batsman, who represented India in 44 Tests and 140 ODIs, said he felt a selector is best placed to "correct things".

"That is the right position and I will wait for my association (Baroda) to promote me as a selector. I will wait for my chance," he said.

Blasting the then selectors for omitting him in 2001 after the Kolkata Test against Australia "without giving any reasons", he said there is no transparency in the selection process.

"After slogging for 20 years someone gets the opportunity to play for the country; it is so much of hard work and you are dumped like that.

"I tried my best to contact people I knew in the Board to find out why I was dropped, but I got no explanation.

"I can understand if it was for any cricketing reason. If my performance was bad then I would have been the last man to be dissatisfied.

"But I lost 3-4 precious years of my life and that is one reason why I want to become a selector," the former India wicket-keeper-batsman said.

Mongia, who remained one short of claiming 100 catches in Test cricket, said his only regret was that he could have played longer for the country.

"Definitely, I could have played longer, I had the potential and could have given much more to the country."

On the match-fixing scandal, he said he was shocked to find his name associated with it.

"It was shocking. It was a very bad phase for me and my family but everything got cleared."

On whether the Indian team had at last found a quality wicket-keeper in Mahendra Singh Dhoni [Images], Mongia replied, "He is good. I always believe that keeping is a specialist job and the first priority should be to select a good keeper."

Mongia, who kept wickets to Anil Kumble [Images], one of the fastest spinners in the game, said, "It was very tough to stand behind the stumps when Kumble bowled. Today he has taken the pace off his bowling. He is now not even half of what he was in the nineties."


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