Great honor to be Indian selector – MSK Prasad
Sep 22, 2016 at 11:04 AM
Former Indian wicketkeeper MSK Prasad was named the chief selector for the Indian team yesterday by the BCCI. The former wicketkeeper will be at the helm of selection affairs, taking over from his predecessor Sandeep Patil. The test squad selection for the home test series against New Zealand was Patil’s final endeavor with the Indian team.
In his first interview after being named the new chief selector, Prasad, in his chat with TOI mentioned that it was an honor for him to be chosen for the job. Below, are the excerpts from his interview.
On being named the chief selector:
It’s a great honor and there are no two ways about it. As a player, we always think about ourselves and our careers but as a selector it is about building a team, creating a winning combination and helping players realize their dreams coming from the length and breadth of the country. It’s a big responsibility bestowed on me and I hope to do my best.
Skills needed for a selector:
The biggest quality for any selector is to have an eye for spotting a talent. Raj Singh Dungarpur was a great example as he identified Sachin Tendulkar, provided him the platform to go and perform. Of course, Sachin had abundant talent but who would expect a 16-year-old to go on and do well.
Lessons from the previous selection panel:
The biggest takeaway has to be the presence of neutral selector during the domestic fixtures. If I am from the south zone, then I would not watch matches in that region, but do so in other zones and vice versa. If I hail from a particular part of India, there will be pressure to pick players from that region but the previous selection committee ensured that the neutral selector theory was put in place. That’s a brilliant concept and that way there is very less pressure on selectors.
His plan of action for the future…
We have 13 Tests at home which are coming up and they are our first priority. The Champions Trophy next year will be important for us and the build up for the 2019 World Cup will begin from thereon.