In recent times, the communication gap between the Indian players and the selection committee has been coined by a couple of players. However, Committee of Administrators (COA) along with the selection committee and the Indian team management including Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri Rohit Sharma, and Ajinkya Rahane will be discussing the communication issue along with the roadmap for the tour of Australia on Wednesday.
The meeting, which is scheduled in Hyderabad, will also address a few core issues like the code of conduct for centrally-contracted players, and requirement of extra support staff. The big issue will be the communication channel between the team management, selectors and the players who get dropped due to some reason.
Recently, Karun Nair and Murali Vijay went on record stating that there were communicated well either the selectors or the team management, an allegation emphatically denied by the chairman of selectors MSK Prasad and COA chief Vinod Rai. While Prasad has said that his colleague Devang Gandhi has spoken to the concerned players, Indian captain Kohli decided not to comment on the issue.
ALSO READ: Twitterati Trolls Kohli For Matching The Height Of Karman Kaur
However, Vijay and Nair’s public statements on the selection committee are being considered a violation of the ‘Code of Conduct’ for the centrally-contracted players. Talking about the meeting, a BCCI official said, “Obviously, the matter will be raised at the meeting. The BCCI has maintained that Vijay is not giving the true picture. Gandhi explained the position of selectors to Vijay in presence of team manager Sunil Subramanium.”
Kohli’s request to have the wives of players and support staff being allowed for the full duration of overseas tours will also be discussed but there are certain chances that it will not get a green signal. The main issue will be the preparation for the tour of Australia that starts with a three-match T20 series on November 21, which will be followed by the four-match Test series beginning December 6 in Adelaide.
The Indian team management has already asked for an extra tour game before the first Test in order to better acclimatization. Cricket Australia is in favor of doing the same and is in the process of arranging an extra tour game. Some of the Test specialists like Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara are expected to travel to New Zealand with the India A team in order to get ready for the Australia series.
ALSO READ: Ravi Shastri Defines The Importance Of Rohit Sharma
It has laos been expected that the team will comprise of having a specialist spin bowling coach like Laxman Sivaramakrishnan and Narendra Hirwani as the slow bowlers have struggled outside the sub-continent.
Initially, only Kohli, Shastri and chairman of selectors MSK Prasad were invited by the Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators (COA) but Rohit and Rahane have been asked to join as well later on.
As per the reports of the Indian Express, the frequent chops and changes in the Indian team would be on top of the COA’s agenda for the meeting. Also, the question of whether the selection committee should be a part of the panel that decides final XI is also likely to come up. It is also learned COA wants selectors to be part of selection process so that the selectors can put their view across when picking the final eleven. The BCCI reckons that without that kind of input and say, there is no point in selectors traveling with the team.
