CHENNAI:Though the days of Gagan Khoda and Jatin Paranjpe as national selectors are numbered, the duo’s last assignment will be on January 5 to pick the ODI and T20 squads for India’s limited over assignments against England, beginning on January 15. After the Supreme Court reiterated its stand on BCCI implementing the Lodha Committee reforms in full, the national selection panel will be cut down from five to three, which the board had objected to.
When the MSK Prasad-led selection committee took charge in September, BCCI had over-looked the criteria set by the Lodha panel which stated that only former Test players should be part of the senior selection committee. However, only Prasad, Sarandeep Singh and Devang Gandhi have played Test cricket for India, while Paranjape and Khoda played six ODIs between them.
However, with the new constitution yet to come into power, sources close to the Lodha panel confirmed that the current structure will continue until reforms are put in place. “The court order came only on Monday and it will take some more time to put the house in order. So in the meantime, the existing selection committee will pick the squad,” the official told Express.
The Lodha panel had cut down the number of selectors so that it could do away with the zonal structure, which in the past had created a few controversies. Until this selection panel took over, the five zones — north, west, east, south and central — used to nominate a candidate, who were then picked by BCCI. However, for the first time in its history, BCCI had advertised for the post of selectors, and Prasad was chosen as the head of the five-member panel. It is understood that the current selectors might not continue once the new constitution is put in place. “You need to have the best available three. All the changes will be made gradually and on merit. Make no mistake, the AGM which appointed the current selectors was null and void, because it directly related to operations for the year 2016-17, which is against the court order,” an official in the know revealed.
Meanwhile, it is understood that with none of the vice-presidents eligible to take up the interim president role, CEO Rahul Johri will practically head BCCI until a panel of administrators is appointed by the Supreme Court on January 19. “None of the vice-presidents are eligible to take up the president’s chair. So there won’t be a head and only the CEO will discharge duties with the help of joint-secretary (Amitabh Choudhary). Once the new panel comes in, they will run the show,” the official said.
As far as the new panel goes, the first task will be to put the new constitution in place so that state units can adopt the reforms. The new constitution will be put in place in a month and state units will be given six months to implement their own set of reforms. By September, when the AGM takes place, a new house will be in order.
venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com