The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has received several applications for two vacant positions in the national selection panel after they invited applicants for the selectors’ post last week.
As per media reports, many veteran cricketers like Chetan Sharma, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Nayan Mongia, Venkatesh Prasad, and Ajit Agarkar have applied for the said posts. The list also includes popular names like Abey Kuruvilla, Rajesh Chauhan, and Amay Khurasiya.
One vacant position is of the chairman of the panel, which is currently held by MSK Prasad.
Prasad finished his four-year term in November last year but has been given extension along with former Rajasthan batsman Gagan Khoda. Both the former players joined the panel in 2015.
However, when it comes to conducting interviews, then the confusion is still active because according to the BCCI constitution, the men’s selectors need to be appointed by a Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which has been non-operational since last November.
As per the rules, the eligibility for senior men’s selectors says that the candidate should have played 7 Test matches or 30 first-class matches or 10 ODIs and 20 first-class matches.
For senior women, the candidate should have represented the national women’s team. Similarly, for junior men, the candidate should have played 25 first-class matches.
Let’s have a brief look at the candidates who have applied for Indian team selectors’ post:
Ajit Agarkar
Ajit Agarkar has played 26 Tests, 191 ODIs and 4 T20I matches in his international career. The right-arm fast bowler has taken 58 wickets in the longest format of the game. He also scalped 288 ODI wickets, and in T20Is, the Mumbai-born dismissed 3 batsmen. Agarkar is a pretty strong candidate.
Chetan Sharma
Chetan Sharma appeared for India in 23 Test matches, and 65 ODIs. The all-rounder snared 61 wickets in Tests and 67 wickets in the white-ball format. After retirement, he tested his fortune in cricket commentary and politics.
Laxman Sivaramakrishnan
One of the most popular commentators of India and the former leg-spinner, Laxman Sivaramakrishna, has also applied for the vacant post. This right-arm bowler had a short international career. He played just nine Tests, and 16 ODIs. In Tests, he grabbed 26 wickets while in ODIs, he scalped 15.
Nayan Mongia
Among all the candidates, the former India wicketkeeper-batsman Nayan Mongia has the most Test caps. He played 44 Tests and scored 1442 runs. In140 ODIs, he smashed 1272 runs.
Abey Kuruvilla
Former pacer Abey Kuruvilla played 10 Tests and 25 ODIs for India. He picked up 25 wickets in red-ball format and as many in ODIs. On 27 September 2012, Kuruvilla was appointed as the national selector from the BCCI. So, he is familiar with the work of a selector.
Venkatesh Prasad
The Bengaluru-born tall-height bowler, Venkatesh Prasad, has appeared in 33 Tests and 161 ODIs for the Indian team. Prasad took 96 wickets in Tests, whereas in ODIs, the right-armer picked up 196 wickets.
Rajesh Chauhan
Former Indian cricketer, Rajesh Chauhan, played 21 Tests and 35 ODIs in his career. He was a part of the Indian spin trio of Anil Kumble-Venkatapathy Raju-Rajesh Chauhan, in the 1990s. The off-spinner grabbed 47 wickets in Tests and 29 in the 50-over format.
Amay Khurasiya
Amay Khurasiya had a pretty short international career. He only played 12 ODIs and scored 149 runs. The left-handed batsman is vastly remembered for his debut against Sri Lanka in March 1999, where he scored 45-balls 57 run innings. His last game came against the same team in April 2001.
