A day after the Indian Cricket Board handed the resignation to the selection committee of the Indian side, one of them comes hard on the board. Chetan Sharma was already under the notice after the failure in Asia Cup, but the other selectors were surprised after their elimination. Sacked selectors now have made a huge accusation against the Indian Cricket Board. He has claimed that there had been constant interference in the selection process from some of the top brass. Even removing Virat Kohli as skipper in ODIs and T20Is was their call.
Team India had access to players joining the course over the last 12 months. However, the selector said it was not always their call on selection. For instance, bringing back Mohammad Shami received BCCI’s backing in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence. But India already had Mohammed Siraj and Avesh Khan playing throughout the year.
“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.
“When you talk about not having a long-term plan, it’s untrue. The reason why Shami was dropped from the 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.
“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 rebuked.
“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.
