Though the new constitution of the BCCI has set a term of four years, down from the five, for the national selectors, the board is further contemplating a scaling down of the term to three years. The existing constitution, which was registered and drafted when the Committee of Administrators were in office, had extended the term from four to five years, but the new officials are eager to reduce it further and bring the tenure back to three years.
Sourav Ganguly, current BCCI chief, is of the opinion that even four years is a long time for the selectors to hold office. “The four year term was designed keeping in mind the ICC World Cup cycle. But that’s a thing of the past now. A three-year stint can be introduced to keep things fresh and in perspective.”
The present scaling down of the tenure from five to four years will see the exit of the chief selector MSK Prasad and his colleague from the central zone, Gagan Khoda. The two were appointed in 2015. The remaining three selectors – Jatin Paranjpe from the west zone, Sarandeep Singh from the north zone and Devang Gandhi from the east, were appointed in 2016 and will continue for another year.
There is no official word on who the new chief selector will be, but word has it that former leg spinner Laxman Sivaramanakrishnan has applied for the job. With Prasad exiting soon, the BCCI will have to appoint a selector from the south zone.
“Dilip Vengsarkar is keen too. He had not completed his term the last time around. But if Paranjpe is set to continue for another year, then we will have to wait and see. Let’s see what Ganguly and Jay Shaha have in mind,” sources told Times of India.
There is no word either on who will replace Khoda, who was representing the central zone in the selection committee. The name of Gyanendra Pandey, from Uttar Pradesh, however, is doing the rounds.
The BCCI Constitution says, “The All India senior committee shall consist of five persons, one from each zone.”
