BCCI imposes media gag on Vengsarkar

The BCCI imposes a media gag on Chairman of Selection Committee, Dilip Vengsarkar and reverts to its old policy of issuing media releases.

BCCI imposed a media gag on the Chairman of Selectors, Dilip Vengsarkar and has reverted back to its old policy of gagging its selection panel chief from interacting with the media.

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"The decision not to allow the selection committee chairman to speak to the media after the meetings was taken at the office bearers sitting (of the BCCI at Delhi) yesterday," board's secretary Niranjan Shah told PTI.

The selectors today chose the team for the first two Tests against Pakistan and the BCCI provided only a media release of the squad, instead of the normal media conference addressed by chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar.

"We don't have to tell the media why we have taken this decision," Shah retorted.

"From now on there will only be media releases after a selection committee meeting and there won't be any interaction (between chief selector and media)," said another board source.

"We have reverted back to the days when Chandu Borde and Syed Kirmani were there as chairman, if you remember," he added, referring to Borde's second innings as chairman between 1999-2002 and Kirmani's single term in 2003-04.

Incidentally, Vengsarkar was consipicuous by his absence to talk to the media when Anil Kumble was announced as Test captain by BCCI's joint secretary Mahendra Pandove late at night on November 8 in Mohali after the second ODI of the current series.

The former India captain has also been asked to discontinue his syndicated media column by the BCCI.