Lakshman Sivaramakrishnan in frame for Indian cricket team chief selector’s job
CHENNAI: Former India spinner Lakshman Sivaramakrishnan has emerged as the frontrunner to replace MSK Prasad as chairman of the senior national selection committee. The BCCI has reached out to a few of former cricketers and it is understood that Sivaramakrishnan, who played nine Tests and 16 ODIs between 1983-1987, is being seen as the ideal candidate to take over from Prasad, whose tenure comes to end at BCCI’s annual general meeting scheduled to be held on October 23.
As reported by this newspaper, the BCCI is believed to be finding it difficult to replace the selectors because of the salary and conflict of interest tangles. While a host of experienced cricketers are understood to have declined the offer, Sivaramakrishnan is believed to be keen and formal discussions are set to take place in the coming days. He currently has a contract with BCCI as a commentator. If he is to take up the new post, he will have to leave the commentator’s job and take a substantial pay cut.
With many already turning their back on the job, BCCI is understood to be reviewing the salary package that is being offered to selectors across all age-groups. There are talks of increasing the remunerations for the chairman of the senior national selection panel to Rs 1.5 crore, with the other four set to be offered Rs 1.2 crore. Even the junior men’s and women’s selectors are likely to be given a raise on par with international standards. While such decisions are usually reserved for the AGM, efforts are being made to get the approval from the CoA, as the BCCI wants to finalise the new selectors since the series against Bangladesh starts just 10 days after the final Test against South Africa.
Other than Sivaramakrishnan, BCCI is on the lookout for only one more selector, as Sarandeep Singh, Jatin Paranjpe and Devang Gandhi are set to continue in their roles for another year until their term ends in 2020. Apart from Prasad, Gagan Khoda’s term also ends this year and with the new constitution doing away with zonal representation, Vijay Dahiya’s name is doing the rounds as a potential replacement. However, if the new BCCI regime still believes the zonal system should continue informally, then it remains to be seen who comes in for Khoda.
Meanwhile, with regards to the Zonal Cricket Committee, which is a newly added one in the constitution, there is confusion. The panel has been formed to select teams for zonal competitions, but as of now the BCCI doesn’t have any such competitions as the Duleep Trophy is played in a different format. It is understood that clarity is being sought on this as not appointing one such committee will mean contempt of Supreme Court orders as the constitution follows the Lodha panel recommendations.
CAC to be paid?
The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which has the responsibility of appointing the coaches and selectors, may become a paid job since the BCCI is struggling to find full-time members for the post. In the worst case, the BCCI might ask the interim panel comprising Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy to continue for a year.