CHENNAI: The upcoming selection committee meeting on November 21 to pick the squads for the limited-over series against the West Indies will be the last for MSK Prasad. Laxman Sivaramakrishnan is lined up to take his place once the BCCI’s annual general meeting takes place on December 1. While this newspaper was the first to report that the former spinner will head the selection panel, there have been other developments with regards to the other four in the panel.
With Prasad’s tenure coming to an end this year, there were talks in the BCCI circles that the entire panel be removed and replaced with a completely new one. However, there seems to be a change in plans with Gyanendra — who is currently a junior selector — likely to join Sivaramakrishnan in the selection panel alongside Jatin Paranjpe, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh. The last three look set to continue till their term ends next year.
In the wake of constant criticism that the selectors have been receiving from various quarters because of the failure to find a No 4 at the World Cup and with the new regime of the BCCI taking charge, speculation was rife that a new-look panel would take charge. However, since the salary is low, it has found few takers as many have even declined to apply for the job when BCCI contacted them over the past month. While there is a possibility that the salary of selectors will be increased at the AGM to attract more candidates, it is likely to be somewhere between Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2 crore for the chairman of selectors.
For the other four, who currently pocket Rs 90 lakh, it is likely to go up to Rs 1.25 crore.
Sivaramakrishnan was among the first the BCCI reached out and even though he enjoys a lucrative deal with the broadcasters, he seems to have found the selector’s job appealing. Moreover, being a regular commentator in domestic matches, he has an edge over the rest when it comes to knowing players, something the BCCI believes will come in handy. Even though Dilip Vengsarkar showed interest, he is considered too old for the job as the board is looking for someone who is more contemporary and versed with modern ideas.
Though the zonal system doesn’t exist in the constitution anymore, the chances of former India wickekeeper Vijay Dahiya coming in place of Pandey is also a possibility. But that looks far fetched at the moment.
According to the new constitution, the selectors can only be appointed by the Cricket Advisory Committee and while it will be named at the AGM, the BCCI believes two changes will be sufficient as they are also looking at continuity keeping in mind the next year’s WT20. With regards to CAC, it is likely to remain an honorary job with a short-period contract as the BCCI will not need to pay the panel. While Committee of Administrators member Diana Edulji’s name was doing the rounds, she is unlikely to be involved in this.