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Some decisions were shocking: Gambhir, MSK Prasad involved in war of words over selection process
Gambhir said the time has come for BCCI to make it mandatory for the captain and coach to have a vote in the selection process.
Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, and Suresh Raina, have been quite vocal about the need of better communication from the selectors recently. The cricketers have highlighted the necessity of dealing with senior cricketers in a better way in Indian cricket. On Thursday, while discussing the matter, former India openers Gautam Gambhir, Krishnamachari Srikanth and former chairman of selectors MSK Prasad were involved in a debate, in which emotions, at times, got the better of the former cricketers.
Gambhir said the time has come for BCCI to make it mandatory for the captain and coach to have a vote in the selection process.
“The time has come when captain needs to be selectors as well. The captain and coach should be selectors. The selectors should have no say in the playing XI. The playing XI has to be captain’s responsibility. But at the same time the captain and the coach should be given the voting power because they cannot shrug off the responsibility of the selected team” Gambhir said in Star Sports show Cricket Connected.
MSK Prasad said the captain has always been consulted in the selection process but according to the laws of Indian cricket, he does not have a vote.
“Captain has always had a say in selection process. There is no two ways about it. He does not have a vote, according to our bylaws,” said MSK Prasad.
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Gambir also slammed the MSK Prasad-led selection committee for not finding a solution to India’s No.4 problem, which according to him cost dearly in the World Cup in England.
“Like it was with Vijay Shankar or whoever got picked in the World Cup. Some of the decisions were absolutely shocking. Probably not picking Ambati Rayudu in the World Cup. They couldn’t find the no. 4. One position they had to identify and they could not do that. Look at what happened to Ambati Rayudu - you picked him for two years. Two years, he batted at no. 4. And just before the World Cup, you needed a 3-D? Is that the kind of statement you want to see from a chairman selector that we need a 3-D cricketer?” Gambhir added.
MSK Prasad replied: “Let me clarify, at the top, everyone was a batsman - Shikhar, Rohit, Virat. There was nobody who could bowl. And someone like Vijay Shankar, who bats at the top order, could be helpful with the ball in the English conditions.”
India had picked Vijay Shankar as their designated No.4 for the 2019 ODI World Cup because of his abilities to bowl medium pace. Prasad had then termed him a ‘3-D’ cricketer for his abilities to bowl, bat and field, which did not go down well with Rayudu.
“Not supporting Gautam or belittling you MSK but there is a huge difference between international cricket and domestic cricket,” said Srikanth, who himself was the chairman of selectors till 2013.
“I agree with Chika that there is a difference but you also have to understand that experience cannot be the only parameter all the time. You may miss out on players in the process,” said Prasad, who has been replaced by former India left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi as the new chairman of selectors.
“Your chairman of selectors needs to be an experienced cricketer, who has played enough international cricket, who has seen the ups and downs of international cricket. The more you play, the better you understand players. Chika has played a lot of international cricket, he has captained India, he knows what a player goes through. When I got selected there was someone else as the chairman, when I got dropped there was someone else as the chairman. Then you came in, I could fight with you, I could walk up to you and discuss things, so that is the relationship you want between players and selectors,” Gambhir added.
