‘There was constant interference,’ says sacked member of Indian selection committee; slams major accusations
A day after the Indian Cricket Board fired the entire selection committee, one of them has taken a strong stance against the board. While Chetan Sharma was already under fire for failing to win the Asia Cup, many were surprised to learn that the entire selection committee was under the radar.
The fired selector has now levelled a serious charge against the Indian Cricket Board. He claims that some of the bigwigs constantly interfered in the selection process. Even Virat Kohli’s removal as ODI and T20 captain was entirely their decision.
“BCCI has thrown us under the bus when they clearly know they should take the blame as well. The captaincy decision was not entirely our own. There was constant interference in selection decisions. The rotation policy in place came as advice from BCCI and it was of course logical. But they now blame us for having 8 captains in 9 months. They have made us the scapegoats,” one of the ousted selectors who wished to remain unnamed told InsideSport.
Over the last 12 months, Team India has added a slew of new players. However, the ousted selector stated that their decisions on selection were not always correct. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, for example, bringing Mohammed Shami back received board approval. However, India already had Mohammed Siraj and Avesh Khan playing all year.
“When you talk about not having a long-term plan, it’s untrue. The reason why Shami was dropped from T20 team was to make space for someone like Arshdeep. He did well. Axar got the backing to be a backup for Jadeja. But tell, is there a replacement for Ashwin? The next-in-line media talks about is Washington Sundar. He has been struggling with injuries. That is why Ashwin made a comeback. As far as team selection goes, it was never in our hands. It was up to the team management to take the call. You should ask why Chahal didn’t play in Australia,” the former selector said.
Regarding Virat Kohli’s removal from T20 and ODI captaincy, the selector stated that it was not entirely the decision of the selection committee.
“I won’t name anyone or a group. But it was not completely the selection committee’s decision to go with new captain for all formats. Some of us wanted to have Virat for white-ball formats until 2023 WC. But ultimately, Virat was removed. Many in the BCCI did not support multiple captains for multiple formats,” the selector said.
“And as far as having 8 captains in a year is concerned, it’s important to rotate and rest players. Rohit is leading the in all three formats at 35 years of age. KL has been in and out of rehab. So, it’s only natural to go with the player next in line for captaincy,” he added.
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