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'Sehwag was asked to apply for head coach job...': BCCI official sensational 'pay package' revelation - Report
The BCCI official reportedly makes a huge revelation on the board's pay package that is preventing the big names from applying for key positions.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is currently operating with an interim chief selector in Shiv Sunder Das, after Chetan Sharma lost his job following a sting operation. Sharma was seen discussing confidential information related to Team India players and the selection processes, following which he was removed from the position. Over the past few years, big names have opted to stay away when it comes to applying for the national selector's job, and according to PTI, a lack of stature among those taking over the roles means they're not “taken seriously.”
The chairman of the senior selection panel earns ₹1 crore annually while the four other members are paid ₹90 lakh per annum. 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.
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The relatively lower-pay (in comparison to what former cricketers earn through broadcasting and advertisement commitments, as well from academies) means the chief selector role isn't the most attractive, and PTI reports that it is preventing big names like Virender Sehwag from even considering the job.
"During CoA's time, Viru (Sehwag) was asked to apply for head coach's job and then it went to Anil Kumble. It is unlikely he will apply himself and also the pay package isn't something that will be financially viable for someone of his stature," a BCCI official, privy to developments told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
“But if we talk about stature, only he makes the cut from North Zone.”
There are other big name players in North Zone who have retired in recent past as well; Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, and Harbhajan Singh among others – but the trio hasn't yet fulfilled the criteria of five-year retirement period unless BCCI relaxes it and makes it five years since last international game
"It is not that BCCI can't pay a chairman of selectors at least ₹4-5 crore. It can actually solve a lot of these conflict of interest issues which prevent prominent players from even thinking of coming into selection committee," the source reasoned.
The report further states 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.
"When Dilip bhai was chairman, he had to make a choice between S Badrinath and Virat Kohli. He saw a few India A games in Australia and he knew whom to back. Rest is history. He could stand his ground in front of Greg Chappell before that," the veteran official recollected.
