Four months after the infamous sting operation that saw Chetan Sharma resigning from his post as national selection committee chairman after revealing classified information about the Indian team, BCCI has officially started the search for the vacant spot. And there was one big name that emerged as the contender for the spot - Virender Sehwag - given that he also ticks off the eligibility criteria box amid reports emerging that he has been approached for the job by BCCI. The former India cricketer on Friday broke his silence on the rumours.
Post Chetan's exit, Shiva Sunder Das has been named the interim chief selector of the committee comprising S Sharath (south), Subroto Banerjee (central) and Salil Ankola (west). On Thursday, BCCI invited applications for the North Zone post with the selected candidate likely to be named the new chief selector as well. The eligibility criteria is no different from previous years as the candidate needs to play either seven Tests or 10 ODIs or at least 30 first-class matches with five years of retirement from active cricket.
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The North does throw up some big names from Indian cricket with Lucknow Super Giants mentor Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and cricketer turned media pundit Harbhajan Singh being among them, but none qualify based on their retirement years. The only one that does is Sehwag, with rumours going around that the board has already approached the legendary batter for the role.
{{/usCountry}}The North does throw up some big names from Indian cricket with Lucknow Super Giants mentor Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and cricketer turned media pundit Harbhajan Singh being among them, but none qualify based on their retirement years. The only one that does is Sehwag, with rumours going around that the board has already approached the legendary batter for the role.
{{/usCountry}}However, when asked point-blank by Times of India on the speculations, Sehwag replied saying, "No".
The former India opener, who presently works as an analyst on various platforms and also earns a handsome amount from promotional activities, is also unlikely to apply for the job himself given the pay package of INR 1 crore.
"During CoA's time, Viru 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 had told PTI on conditions of anonymity.