One of the most difficult roles upholding within the cricketing administration of India is that of the coveted position of the Chairman of Selectors.
In a country where every cricket fanatic is a virtual selector, coach, and tactician, the role of the head of the selection committee can be daunting due to the sheer pressure on the job.
The journey of the MSK Prasad as the ‘Chairman of Selectors’ has now reached its end. Newly appointed CAC member Madan Lal is currently recruiting a fresh panel of selectors, already featuring Sunil Joshi and Harvinder Singh.
Prasad, in a recent interaction with the media, revealed the most stressful decisions he had to make during his long tenure as chief selector.
After India’s loss in the Champions Trophy to Pakistan in the finals, Prasad had to be bold in choosing the wrist-spinning option ahead of the established finger-spinning pair of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Jadeja and Ashwin were struggling to provide breakthroughs during the middle-overs. As a result, India more often than not conceded expensive overs at the death, with wickets in hand of the opposition.
However, it all changed with the inclusion of the wrist-spinning pair of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.
“Dropping (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Ravindra) Jadeja from white-ball cricket or preparing a successor for MS Dhoni, both were challenging,” Prasad told Cricbuzz.
India still isn’t certain about their wicket-keeping option, as well as the finishing role with the bat. For a long time, the think-tank backed Rishabh Pant in ODIs, but due to repeated failures, KL Rahul is now being used as a quick-fix solution to the ‘MSD successor’ problem.
Prasad concluded by claiming that MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh are legends of the game, and it would be an uphill task to find their replacement.
“Dhoni and Yuvraj are legends, and I don’t really see anyone stepping into those shoes. It is tough to deal with. Our fundamental job is to identify fresh talent, groom them and induct them when the need arises,” concluded the former India international.
