Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players
Age no bar in BCCI's hunt for chief selector
There is no mention of the age limit of 60 in BCCI’s advert for the fifth selector, a post left vacant by chief selector Chetan Sharma’s exit
The Indian cricket board (BCCI) on Thursday invited applicants for the post of the fifth national selector, which has been left vacant since chief selector Chetan Sharma’s unceremonious exit in February. The deadline for applications is June 30.
Interestingly, age is no bar for applicants, which opens up the possibility of a cricketer over 60 taking the chief selector’s post. Since 2016, the BCCI has had in place an age limit of 60 for selectors.
Most of the other criteria remain the same. The applicant should have played at least 7 Tests or 30 first-class matches or 10 ODIs and 20 first-class matches. Also, interested candidates should have retired from the game at least five years back.
While the advertisement put out on BCCI’s website hasn’t made it mandatory for the applicant to be from the same zone as Chetan Sharma (North), zonal representation has been the convention.
Shiv Sundar Das, who has the most Test caps in the current panel, is playing the role of interim chief, assisted by Salil Ankola, Subroto Banerjee and S Sharath. In case the BCCI doesn't find someone with more experience than Das for the post of the fifth selector, the latter will continue as the head selector.
Sharma was beginning his second term when he was caught in a sting operation by a television channel making uncomplimentary remarks about top Indian cricketers. He subsequently resigned.
The former pace bowler was back in the news last week when he represented Haryana Cricket Association in the North Zone selection meet to pick the team for the Duleep Trophy. He again chaired a meeting on Thursday to announce Jayant Yadav as captain after Mandeep Singh was ruled out due to injury. BCCI officials say there are no plans to ask him to return.
With the ODI World Cup less than four months away, the new chief selector may have to largely go with head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma’s vision. Once the five-member committee is in place, its first task would be to pick India’s squad for the Asia Cup starting August 31, which will serve as a dress rehearsal for the quadrennial event.
