On Thursday, former Indian fast bowler, Chetan Sharma was appointed as the chief of the national selection panel by the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which also picked Mumbai’s Abey Kuruvilla and Odisha’s Debasis Mohanty in the panel consisting of five members. The new panel was formed on the sidelines of the Board’s 89th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Ahmedabad, with Sharma getting ahead of Maninder Singh and Vijay Dahiya from the north zone.
Talking about the appointment to PTI, Sharma said, “It’s indeed a privilege for me to get an opportunity to serve Indian cricket once again. I am a man of few words and my action will speak louder than words. I can only thank BCCI for this opportunity.”
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Former medium-pacer Kuruvilla was preferred over a more decorated Ajit Agarkar from the west zone as he got some much-needed support from the officials. Mohanty was already serving as the junior national selector for the last couple of years and will remain in the committee for another couple of years only.
The selection panel also comprises former India players Sunil Joshi (south zone) and Harvinder Singh (central zone). In a press release regarding the same, BCCI secretary, Jay Shah said, “The committee further recommended Chetan Sharma for the role of chairman of the senior men’s selection committee based on seniority (total number of Test matches). The CAC will review the candidates after a one-year period and make the recommendations to the BCCI.”
As per the BCCI constitution, the candidate with the most Test caps becomes the chief selector. Sharma represented India in 23 Tests and 65 ODIs during an 11-year-old international career, the highlight of which was his hat-trick in the 1987 World Cup.
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It is learned that some of the candidates were asked questions regarding the roadmap of Indian cricket and also hypothetical questions on the split captaincy. The new selection committee’s first meeting will be held to pick the squad for the full-fledged home series against England.
