Chetan Sharma, Abey Kuruvilla and Debashish Mohanty appointed to India selection panel
The BCCI has announced the names of the three new appointments to the selection committee for the India senior men's team. Former India fast bowler Chetan Sharma, Mumbai pacer Abey Kuruvilla and Odisha's Debashish Mohanty are the three names who have been picked to select future India squads.
The trio will join Sunil Joshi and Harvinder Singh as the five members on India's selection panel. Their first task will be to pick the India squad for the upcoming home series against England.
The Cricket Advisory Committee, which comprised Madan Lal, Rudra Pratap Singh and Sulakshana Naik, decided to select the three new members of the selection committee. Based on their recommendations, the BCCI announced its final decision on Thursday. The BCCI announced in a statement, "the Cricket Advisory Committee will review the candidates after a one-year period and make the recommendations to the BCCI."
Chetan Sharma will serve as the Chairman of the selection committee based on his experience and seniority. The 54-year-old played 23 Tests and 65 ODIs for India. Sharma will be the selector from the North Zone, while Kuruvilla will head the West Zone and Mohanty will take over from the East Zone.
India selection panel: Heavy favourites Agarkar and Mongia overlooked
The decision to name the trio comes as somewhat of a surprise, considering some of the names who were considered to be front-runners leading into the decision. Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar was considered to be the heavy favourite to take over from the West, but he was overlooked in favour of Kuruvilla. Vijay Dahiya, Ajay Ratra, Nayan Mongia and SS Das were also thought to be on the short-list, but ultimately weren't selected.
The selectors are set for a busy few months, with India set to host and tour England and take part in the T20I World Cup next year.