Chetan Sharma set for second consecutive stint as chairman of selection committee - Reports
The incumbent chairman of the Indian cricket team's national selection committee, Chetan Sharma, is likely to hold his position for yet another term.
It was initially learnt that Sharma had re-applied for the post despite him and his panel being dismissed following Team India's exit from the T20 World Cup 2022.
The departing selection panel were asked to select the squads for the upcoming Sri Lanka series as well, with the new chairman and panel not being formally appointed. Reports suggested that there was a lack of applicants despite a lucrative package being offered.
Call it an informed guesswork.
My 5 Selectors: Chetan Sharma (chairman), Harvinder Singh (Central), S Sharath (South), SS Das (East), Mukund Parmar (West).
Can go horribly wrong but guess could still end up with first division marks
#IndianCricketTeam
@BCCI
The three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) panel reportedly interviewed the candidates who expressed their interest in the post on January 2. According to a report by NDTV, the Ashok Malhotra-led committee interviewed 6-7 former Indian players.
This included Chetan Sharma, Harvinder Singh, Amay Khurasia, Ajay Ratra, SS Das, S Sharath and Connor Williams.
It is worth noting that notable former pacer Venkatesh Prasad was not shortlisted for the interview. Harvinder Singh, who was part of the Sharma-led selection panel, is also likely to retain his place upon the CAC's recommendation.
Chetan Sharma was appointed as chairman of the selection panel in 2020
Chetan Sharma, who was the first Indian bowler to claim a World Cup hat trick, assumed the post of chairman in December 2020. He replaced former player Sunil Joshi at the helm.
Sharma and Harvinder Singh are seemingly set to reprise their roles as chairman and North Zone selector, respectively. This means the CAC's primary task will be to identify candidates to take over the remaining zones.
If BCCI is indeed going back to Chetan Sharma, it will just show once again how they messed it up. Before becoming a chairman, he mostly did media commitments. Ideally you got to have one who has been part of the system as a selector or coach of a domestic or IPL team.
Debashish Mohanty and Sunil Joshi's terms have come to an end and definitely so, since they have not re-applied for the post. The West Zone selector post, meanwhile, has always been up for grabs since March 2022 as Abey Kuruvilla vacated the post to become the BCCI's General Manager.
The CAC will reportedly come to a decision soon. The first task of the new selection panel might be to determine the squads for the upcoming home series against New Zealand.
Will Chetan Sharma be re-appointed as chairman of the selection panel? Let us know what you think.