Tamil Nadu Spinner Sai Kishore Ignored by Selectors Despite County Success and Strong Domestic Record

Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore has been making waves in English county cricket while remaining completely ignored by national and zonal selectors back home. Playing for Gloucestershire in County Division II, the bowler recently caught attention when a video of him dismissing Worcestershire captain Brett D'Oliveira went viral, with the delivery pitching far outside leg and hitting the off-stump. A week later, England captain Ben Stokes was also outwitted by the spinner on a hard, green pitch. During one standout spell against Derbyshire, Sai Kishore claimed five wickets for just six runs. However, despite these high-profile performances abroad and strong numbers in domestic cricket, he was left out of the South Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy. Selectors chose Tanay Thyagarajan and T Vijay ahead of him, though both players struggled once the matches began. Over the past few seasons, Sai Kishore has been a dominant force in red-ball cricket. Since the 2022-23 domestic season, he has taken over one hundred wickets across two dozen Ranji Trophy matches at an average of roughly twenty-three. His performance in the Indian Premier League has also outshone notable names like his own teammate Rashid Khan. Despite this track record, he has missed out on multiple national squads, including the India A team, the Asian Games T20I side, the ODI series team against West Indies, and the Rest of India squad. While selectors often weigh team requirements and potential over raw wicket counts, only a handful of bowlers have taken more wickets than him in the same period, and none among those top wicket-takers have made as big an impact in the IPL. Having missed out across all domestic tiers, Sai Kishore now returns to lead Tamil Nadu, facing an uncertain national future that echoes the overlooked career of veteran domestic star Jalaj Saxena.