The Indian domestic cricket circuit has had a long and cherished history. It may have fallen behind to the IPL in the pecking order in terms of popularity, but the likes of Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy tournaments are still the backbone of Indian cricket. Players such as Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer, who today are an integral part of the Indian international set-up are all products of an impressive core domestic set-up.

But while most have realised their dream of playing for India, some are still awaiting that elusive maiden call-up. One such player is Saurashtra wicketkeeper-batter Sheldon Jackson. The 35-year-old, who recently played the IPL for Kolkata Knight riders, continues to wait for his maiden India call-up despite piling 5947 runs in 79 First-class matches at an impressive average of 50.39. Jackson’s absence has been a hot topic of discussion in the past as well, with former India spinner Harbhajan Singh expressing surprise over him getting repeatedly sidelined. 

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Jackson, along with the likes of Jalaj Saxena, Akshay Wakhare, are yet to realise their India dream, despite succeeding in the domestic circuit. Jackson’s case is all the more curious because he a solid wicket-keeper batter but somehow the selectors have always managed to look past him. Jackson himself is pretty baffled with selectors continuously overlooking past him as he made some interesting revelations.

“To be honest, this has not happened just this year, it has been happening since the beginning. The amount of runs and the rate at which I got them; I don’t think many in the country have. If you see 75 matches and around 6000 runs, that shows what I have achieved through my hard work,” he told SportsKeeda.

“There has been no communication (on why I was not picked) but once I asked someone what more I need to do, I was told I am old. They told me that above 30, we are not picking anyone. But ultimately, after a year, they picked someone who was around 32-33. I was very vocal that is there any law that once you’re above 30, 35 or even 40 you cannot get picked? Then why don’t you come out with a law itself?”

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Besides impressive First-Class numbers, Jackson’s List A figures aren’t too far behind. With 2346 runs from 67 games at a healthy average of 37.33, including 8 hundreds and 12 fifties to go with one century and 10 fifties in T20 cricket. And yet, Jackson has never featured in an India squad in any format. At this stage in his career, Jackson understands that even though waiting is tough, it is what drives him to give his best.

“It is very difficult because year in and year out, you’re putting in the hard yards, being consistent, because Indian domestic cricket is so difficult, to be consistent over there year in year out. But that is the motivation for me. The more I don’t get picked, the more I get determined to do it again. Not to prove people, but to prove it to myself that I still have the hunger in me,” mentioned Jackson.

“I don’t have to prove anything to anyone since I have done that for a long time. But I have the best batting coach in the country and the best trainer. They keep on motivating me that ‘let’s see one more year’. So I say the same to you, ‘let’s see one more year.'”