The selection committees appointed by the BCCI in the past decade have come under fire from the fans and experts alike, both for their composition – the members lacked stature, it was said – and the squad selection for important tournaments.
The current national selection committee, too, has had its share of controversies. The biggest among them was when the then chairman Chetan Sharma was asked to resign in February for revealing classified information about the Indian team. His committee was sacked after the T20 World Cup debacle but he reapplied, and was reappointed, when the new panel took over in December last year. However, the sting operation made his position untenable and he was asked to resign after most members of the Indian team did not want to sit across the table with him.
The BCCI has now formally invited applications to fill the post vacated by the former pacer. The last date of submitting application is June 30, and it is expected that the new selection committee member would be part of the panel that will pick the squad for the Ireland series, and before that, he is likely to watch the Deodhar Trophy Inter-Zonal competition.
The criteria? One needs to play either seven Tests or 10 ODIs or at least 30 first-class matches with five years of retirement from active cricket.
"Technically, Chetan can apply if he wants to as he had resigned. Obviously, whether he would apply or not is a big question but rules can't stop him from applying once again," a senior BCCI official told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
There are some big names to fill the North Zone selector's spot, like Gautam Gambhir (retired in December 2018), Yuvraj Singh (retired in July 2019) and Harbhajan Singh (retired in 2022), but they haven't completed five years of retirement on the date of application.
Former flamboyant opener Virender Sehwag is eligible but he is an analyst on various platforms and also part of several promotional activities. Would he settle for a Rs 1 crore job? The rest of the panel members get Rs 90 lakh.
The likely candidates
Former India opener Shiv Sunder Das, who has 23 Tests to his credit, has temporarily replaced Sharma as chairman of the panel that also has S. Sharath (South), Subroto Banerjee (Central) and Salil Ankola (West).
"There is nothing cast in stone that BCCI needs chairman from North Zone since Chetan held the post. They can bring in someone like a Vivek Razdan, Ajay Ratra, Reetinder Singh Sodhi or Atul Wassan and continue with S.S. Das as the new chairman," another BCCI source told PTI.
In case, the BCCI doesn't get a big name from North Zone, then former stumper Ajay Ratra is an option. He was one of the candidates interviewed by Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Ashok Malhotra, Sulakshana Naik and Jatin Paranjape when Chetan Sharma got reappointed.
Another choice could be Vivek Razdan, who has watched a lot of domestic cricket as a BCCI panel commentator over the last decade. "If I am approached, I would be interested and it would be an honour to serve Indian cricket. But I believe that for a selector's post, one should only apply if you are told to apply," Razdan, who is currently holidaying in the US, said.
Former India spinner Maninder Singh had applied twice. He was called for an interview the first time but did not get call the second time.
Will BCCI increase national selectors' remuneration?
The big names in Indian cricket, of late, have opted to stay away when it comes to applying for the national selector's job. One of the prime reasons cited is the remuneration.
BCCI is unlikely to get a reputed name from North Zone to replace Sharma unless it significantly raise the pay package.
The last time the selection panel was headed by reputed former cricketers was when former captains Dilip Vengsarkar (2006-2008) and Krishnamachari Srikkanth (2008-2012) were at the helm. Vengsarkar's job was honorary and it was only after Srikkanth took over that BCCI began to pay its selectors.
Mohinder Amarnath also became part of the panel while Sandeep Patil also headed the committee later. Amarnath's position became untenable after developing difference of opinion with then BCCI president N. Srinivasan on M.S. Dhoni's future as captain after Indian team's twin debacle in England and Australia.
Former cricketers with notable international achievements are either associated with broadcast channels or with IPL teams as experts. A few are involved in running academies while others write syndicated columns and also do a lot of sponsored work, all of which cumulatively helps them earn much more compared to BCCI's annual package.
It's often mentioned in Indian cricketing circles that a chairman of selectors, without a certain pedigree, finds it difficult to stand his ground when a Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri or a Rahul Dravid is sitting across the table during selection meetings.
(With PTI inputs)