Among the numerous applicants for the India senior selectors positions; Maninder Singh, a former left-arm spinner, Shiv Sunder Das, and Nayan Mongia stood out. More than 50 people are believed to have applied for the position; but there aren’t many well-known candidates in the running.
From the list of more than 50 contenders, Mongia (44 Tests), Maninder (35 Tests), and Das (21 Tests) have the greatest experience.
Maninder had originally applied for the position in 2021, but Chetan Sharma beat him to it. Sharma was chosen at the time by the Madan Lal-led Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC).
The application status of former pacer Ajit Agarkar could not be confirmed. Many believe that if Agarkar decides to apply; his international credentials will guarantee his position as chairman of the selection committee.
Samir Dighe, a former goalkeeper; the colorful Vinod Kambli, and current senior Mumbai team chairman Salil Ankola are rumored to have applied from Mumbai.
Maninder told PTI, “Yes, I have applied.
Das, who is currently the batting coach for the senior Punjab side; has applied, according to reliable sources, and since the East Zone hardly ever produces Test players of note; he stands a very high chance of being chosen as a selector.
However, it is uncertain whether Das’ home state of Odisha will support his bid.
The last time, despite being the favorite, Agarkar didn’t land the position since the former MCA government didn’t support him because the officials preferred Abey Kuruvilla.
The other North Zone names are previous lightweight cricketers
Along with Maninder, former India players Atul Wassan, Nikhil Chopra (Delhi), Ajay Ratra (Haryana), and Reetinder Singh Sodhi (Punjab) have also declared for the North Zone.
Other names from the East Zone are very mild, with the exception of Das. They are Sourasish Lahiri from Bengal, Prabhanjan Mullick, Rashmi Ranjan Parida from Odisha, Subhamoy Das, and Saradindu Mukherjee.
Two former India players, Deep Dasgupta and Laxmi Ratan Shukla (current Bengal coach), have decided not to apply.
Amay Khurasiya of Madhya Pradesh and Gyanendra Pandey of Uttar Pradesh are thought to have applied from the central zone.
Although there are no formal regulations, the BCCI often adheres to the tradition of equal distribution; therefore in recent years, five junior and five senior selectors have come from ten different states.
Thus, the junior selection committee includes members from Gujarat (Krishan Mohan), MP (Harvinder Sodhi), Punjab (Krishan Mohan), Tamil Nadu (S Sharath), and Bengal (Pathik Patel).
Consequently, it is anticipated that candidates from these five states will most certainly be disqualified.
Known individuals from Tamil Nadu such as L Sivaramakrishnan and WV Raman have not applied.
However, Kanwaljeet Singh, a former off-spinner for Hyderabad, has filed for the position as a South zone candidate.
The application status of former pacer Ajit Agarkar could not be confirmed. Many believe that if Agarkar decides to apply; his international credentials will guarantee his position as chairman of the selection committee.
Samir Dighe, a former goalkeeper, the colourful Vinod Kambli, and current senior Mumbai team chairman Salil Ankola are rumoured to have applied from Mumbai.
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More over 50 people have applied for the new panel
It is believed that more over 50 people have applied for the new panel; although there aren’t many major hitters in the running as of Monday at 6 p.m.
Maninder (35 Tests) leads all confirmed applicants in total Tests played, with Das (21 Tests) coming in second.
Maninder had applied in 2021 as well, and despite making it to the interview stage, Chetan Sharma beat him out as the former Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) (led by Madan Laldecision.)
Chetan and Maninder were both youthful stars in the middle to end of the 1980s before losing their fame; despite Chetan having played less matches overall than Maninder.
New Selection Committee for BCCI
Chetan Sharma and Harvinder Singh, two “FIRED” selectors, have reapplied for the positions. Despite the lack of household names, Chetan Sharma will undoubtedly garner a lot of attention. Two former India pacers from Karnataka, Venkatesh Prasad and Dodda Ganesh, have applied for the position, among other well-known candidates.
They were joined in submitting their applications by Nayan Mongia, Maninder Singh, Shivsundar Das, and Ajay Ratra. For the five open selector positions, BCCI has received close to 100 applications. The board will review the applications, and in December it will unveil the new selection committee. Following a poor T20 World Cup performance, the entire selection committee, including chairman Chetan Sharma, was dismissed last week. It was the first time that two selectors’ contracts had not been renewed despite the fact that they still had tenure. Singh and Sharma, however, have both reapplied. If the BCCI and the incoming Cricket Advisory Committee decide to reappoint the two, it will be interesting to watch.
