Interview | For a domestic cricketer, nothing can beat winning the Ranji Trophy: Sheldon Jackson Today Sports News

As Saurashtra bowed out of the Ranji Trophy with a quarterfinal loss to Gujarat at the Niranjan Shah Stadium on Tuesday, it was also the end of the road for Sheldon Jackson after a successful career in domestic cricket. The 38-year-old had his mother, wife and two kids watching from the stands when the fourth day’s play was on, and then joining him on the outfield at the conclusion to savour the emotional occasion.

The middle-order batter has hung up his boots after scoring 7283 runs in 106 First Class matches at an average of 45.80, including 21 centuries and 39 fifties. He had announced his retirement from the white-ball game in January. He was an integral part of Saurashtra winning the Ranji Trophy twice, in 2019-20 and 2022-23. He also won the Vijay Hazare Trophy — the domestic 50-over tournament — twice, once as a rookie in 2007-08 and then as a senior pro in the 2022-23 season. In the 2019-20 Ranji triumph, he was Saurashtra’s leading run-getter. When the team won the Vijay Hazare title a second time, he scored an unbeaten ton in the final.

In an interview with The Hindu at the team hotel after the game, he opened up about the decision, his illustrious achievements with Saurashtra, and how he dealt with the disappointment of never getting a chance for India. Excerpts:

When did you decide about retirement? What made you take the call?

I made up my mind about retiring before the season began. It is never an easy call to stop something that has been a major part of your life. Before the preparation camp for the season started, I went into Jaydev Shah’s (Saurashtra Cricket Association president) office and told him that this was going to be my last season no matter how far we progressed. I knew I had crossed my prime, in terms of both age and performance. I wasn’t going to get picked in Duleep Trophy or Irani Cup squads any longer. For three years, I was not even filling the forms for the IPL player auction. So, that was also out of the picture. My motivation was to complete 100 First Class matches. I was on 98 before the season. So that’s the thing that motivated me. It is always difficult to leave the sport that you have played for so long. But at the age of 38, even if I get 800 or 900 runs, it is not going to help anybody. You are stopping the progress of the team. If I have gone today, the team can find one youngster. Tomorrow if all the other seniors go together, you cannot fill 3-4 spots at the same time.

You have won titles and scored many runs for Saurashtra. What would you consider your proudest achievement?

Saurashtra has won four titles. From this present group, (Cheteshwar) Pujara and I have been part of all four in some capacity or the other. It is really difficult to pick one particular moment or innings.

But if I had to pick two or three, I would definitely pick the hundreds I got in the semifinals against Karnataka in Bengaluru (2018-19 and 2022-23), and the hundred in the Vijay Hazare final against Maharashtra (2022-23). I always believe it is the runs you get in those matches and situations that define you as a sportsperson. For those innings, you will always be remembered. Even today, when somebody speaks to me, it is those hundreds that they talk about a lot. You understand the importance from that.

Is winning the Ranji Trophy the ultimate achievement for a domestic player?

Yes, definitely. You ultimately play to win. Why do we always talk about the great Mumbai players? Because of the number of Ranji titles they have won. So, for a domestic cricketer, nothing can beat winning the Ranji Trophy. Sometimes, one bad session in a five-day game and we are out. We started our camp in June-July and we are now in February. Around 7-8 months of hard work can come to nothing and we aren’t progressing further in the Ranji Trophy this season because of two bad hours. So there is a lot of hard work, mentally, physically and everything. It tests the true character of a person and cricketer. Whenever you hear all the legends speak, they rate First Class cricket so highly because of that.

You were a bit teary-eyed at the end while posing for photos with your teammates. What are you feeling right now?

Of course, I am never going to be playing again with this bunch of boys. This bunch, around 8-9 of us, has achieved so many great things together. We have won many trophies together. I am not going to be playing competitive cricket of this quality again in my life. So, all those memories started coming back…the first time I walked onto this field. It does make you emotional.

There seems to be a sense that Saurashtra has to undergo a transition phase after a successful period. Your thoughts…

If I have to be honest, I am against the transition phase. You don’t build a team for the future, you build a team for the present. When you sit down for team selection for the Ranji Trophy, you have to pick players who will win you those 3-4 matches, not 20 matches after that. Transition will take place only when someone from below is able enough to take your place or outscoring you in almost every game. That is how it used to be and that is how we have been brought up. Nobody gifted us a chance because someone is on the wrong side of 30s. I had to wait for six years on the bench without playing a match before I could make my First Class debut for Saurashtra.

You should have a vision of winning the title this year. That could be a 40-year-old or an 18-year-old helping you win the trophy. Do what you want to do in white-ball cricket, but red-ball cricket needs a lot of character and skill.

You were part of India-A squads. You played in the Duleep Trophy and Irani Cup. Any regrets about not playing for India? And what advice would you give to domestic players who are not getting a chance at the highest level despite putting in performances?

My only advice to any domestic player is to just keep doing what you are doing. We think very often that our runs are not noticed. But everything in our system is noticed. Because of social media and the internet, every score is highlighted a lot more now too. But I tell youngsters that it is not only about the runs you score. It is about the runs you score that create an impact on the situation of the match. Those runs will always be noticed. If you can do that year in, year out, there are beautiful examples of those who come from the domestic system and have made it to the Indian team. Sarfaraz Khan, Abhimanyu Easwaran are there right. Whether they get a game or don’t get a game is a different thing altogether. That depends on the management and many factors. But at least, they have got picked. And they have got picked because they have scored so many runs in domestic cricket.

Even I felt at one stage that I deserved to get picked because I was scoring many runs. But if you see in the end, how will you be picked if there is no spot available? You will have to wait for your turn.

In my case, when I started doing well, I was around 29-30. I was human. I wanted to get picked for India. But if it didn’t happen, it didn’t happen. It took me till I was 33 or 34 to come to peace with it. Till then, I felt I could have played for India. That is when I understood that I should stop expecting or hoping. Maybe if I had done well for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and taken my chances in the IPL, things could have been different. But I couldn’t capitalise on those opportunities.

What are your future plans?

If I can get into some T20 legends’ league, I will be happy. But for the moment, I haven’t met Jaydev bhai and Niranjan (Shah) sir. I will take their advice and know what they have in mind for me because they have been mentors along with a few others. I want to sit down and find out whether I can help the association in any capacity. Once I do that, only then will I be able to give a clearer picture.