“He Can Be India Material”: Chandrakant Pandit on the Tactical Masterstroke That Earned Saransh Jain a Test Spot
India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka features a 33-year-old who forced the selectors’ hand through the sheer weight of his domestic performances. With Washington Sundar recovering from injury, Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Saransh Jain has earned his maiden Test call-up, stepping in as a specialist right-arm finger spinner to complement Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Manav Suthar.
For Madhya Pradesh head coach Chandrakant Pandit, who unlocked Jain’s potential over the last few seasons, the call-up is long-overdue validation.
“It’s not only a happy moment for Saransh, but a happy moment for Madhya Pradesh as well as me as a coach,” Pandit told RevSportz. “Four years back, we thought about it. I mean, I didn’t know whether I was right or wrong, but he was not regularly part of the Madhya Pradesh team. He probably could play one or two games in a season. When I went there, I thought he’s got a different skill and a different ability, and he can be India material. I still feel he could have played two years back for India, the way he was performing, but obviously, nothing is late.”
Rather than relying purely on raw talent, Pandit credits Jain’s rise to a deep analytical curiosity.
“He is very communicative,” Pandit explained. “For example, if we set a certain field, he will bowl to it, but he’ll come back during breaks and keep asking me the reason behind it. He wants to know the ‘why’. That is what makes him learn faster. When somebody has curiosity, they get clarity.”
That willingness to learn proved crucial when Pandit encouraged Jain to make a significant tactical shift by attacking right-handers from round the wicket, a move that has since become one of his greatest weapons.
“It was a little tough to accept for a guy who’s been doing it differently, so I had to show him some of his wickets from around the wicket,” Pandit recalled. “I said, ‘You do it for me, don’t worry about your performance.’ This is how he picked it up, and the acceptance level was very good. His bowling round the wicket brings a lot to the table.”
Jain mastered the angle so effectively that it became a defining feature of his domestic dominance.
“Saransh has a very good outgoing delivery, and his line never gives any batsman room to cut the ball,” Pandit added. “Even if he’s bowling round the wicket, he has the line to hold on middle and off stump. In the Ranji Trophy, we often made him bowl without a point fielder. That speaks volumes about his accuracy.”
Pandit places Jain in rare company when assessing his ceiling.
“We don’t want to compare, but obviously, we have high regard for Harbhajan Singh and Ashwin and the way they have delivered for Indian cricket. After them, I feel a genuine off-spinner has come now.”
Jain’s cricketing intelligence is rooted in his family heritage. His father, Subodh Jain, is a former Madhya Pradesh Ranji Trophy player. The journey to the top, however, demanded immense resilience.
Early in Saransh’s career, while he was away on a cricket tour in Australia, his father underwent surgery for cancer. Unable to speak after the operation, Subodh wrote a handwritten note to his son, urging him to remain entirely focused on his cricket rather than worrying about his health. Jain has preserved that deeply personal message ever since, carrying it with him through his long wait for national recognition.
Jain’s résumé is built on sustained excellence rather than a fleeting spike in form. He anchored Madhya Pradesh to their maiden Ranji Trophy title in 2021-22, scoring a crucial 57 in the final against Mumbai. He followed that by winning the Lala Amarnath Award as the tournament’s best all-rounder (360 runs and 35 wickets) in 2022-23, before dominating again the following season with 518 runs at an average of 57.55 and 30 wickets at 20.43. Most recently, he was named Player of the Series in the 2025 Duleep Trophy after taking 16 wickets to guide Central Zone to the title.
For Pandit, the selection of a 33-year-old who bypassed the IPL route is a major victory for the grassroots system.
“We have to give credit to the selection committee as well,” Pandit emphasised. “If someone from the committee says this is a role for a 33-year-old, I’m sure they considered that his performance is at a higher level. You need to knock on the door of the selection committee, and he has done that. Justice has been given to him.”
Pandit believes the selection sends a crucial message to dressing rooms across the country.
“We all want domestic cricketers, those who grind in domestic cricket, not just IPL-famed players, to get these chances. It changes the mindset. Domestic players might feel they have to play IPL to get into the Indian team, but those grinding in domestic cricket shouldn’t lose out.”
Jain recently passed a final audition during the India A tour of Sri Lanka, claiming six wickets and striking a gritty unbeaten 70 to help seal the series. With the upcoming Tests set for Galle and Colombo, he will be returning to familiar conditions.
When Jain called his coach on Tuesday afternoon to share the news, Pandit kept his advice simple.
“I suggested to him: ‘When you go, don’t think about what you have to do because you have already been to Sri Lanka with India A and done well. You know the conditions. Just try to do the basics you’ve been doing. Don’t try to do anything extra.’”
That grounded approach has already been endorsed by one of India’s greatest off-spinners. During one of Jain’s recent stints at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, Harbhajan Singh observed him closely and delivered a clear message.
“Harbhajan was there once and passed on a message to him,” Pandit recalled. “He said, ‘Whatever you are doing, keep doing it because you are doing that very well.’ I am sure Harbhajan would have passed on his inputs to the selectors as well.”
If Jain makes his debut in Galle, he will bring with him a wealth of domestic experience, an analytical mind and the backing of one of Indian cricket’s finest off-spinners.
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