Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the five-Test series in England due to shin splints that will take a minimum of three months to heal. BCCI will not be sending a replacement for the injured opener Shubman Gill to England and India will have to make do with the 23 available players for the series starting next month.
The last few days have seen a lot of talk around the Indian team management’s call for a replacement for injured opener Shubman Gill and the national selectors’ refusal to send any more players considering the touring party already has enough backup players.
Shubman Gill’s Replacement Refusal Could Have Been Avoided If The Manager Had Followed The Protocols : BCCI Official
A senior BCCI official has said that the whole episode surrounding about Shubman Gill’s replacements could have been avoided if the manager had written to either the secretary or the acting CEO. Speaking to ANI, the BCCI official said that the manager should have followed the protocol and written to either Jay Shah or Hemang Amin and the confusion could have very well been avoided.
“It is time for the team management to focus on the tour after the break. There has been a lot of chatter around this whole replacement business and the email from the team management to the chairman of selectors, which has apparently caused confusion in the minds of a lot of people except possibly the team management and the selectors.”
“I think this is on account of the fact that the team manager addressed the email to the chairman of selectors rather than to the BCCI’s acting CEO or the secretary,” the official explained.
“It is very simple, when you are on tour, if there is any requirement or difficulty, you are to speak or write to the secretary or the CEO or their office since they are your point of contact. The selection committee is not empowered to unilaterally take a decision on the basis of an email. However, the selection committee can — if they feel the necessity — request the board if they wish to make changes and the board does usually accord approval for this.”
The official said: “In this case, too there was a verbal discussion and specific names were requested and the selectors had not agreed with the views of the team management. Therefore, if a mail had then to be written, it ought to have been to the acting CEO or the secretary.”
Explaining how there was a lapse in decision-making on part of the team management, the official said: “I am sure Girish Dongre and the Team Director and the captain who are marked on the email are well aware of the process as well. Therefore, this does not appear to be a well thought out decision to send out this email in this manner.”
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly tried to steer clear of the controversy surrounding the national selectors’ decision to not send a replacement for injured opener Shubman Gill in England, saying it was a matter for the selection committee to consider. BCCI has asked Shubman Gill to return home. There is, however, no news of a replacement as of now or when Shubman Gill is expected to fly back.
Selection Committee Giving Team Management The Necessary Replacements For Their Choice Coincided With Team Management’s Choice In Last Year: BCCI Official
There has also been a trend in the recent past wherein the previous selection committee under the Committee of Administrators accepted every demand of the team management. The official explained that while it is all fair when decisions are taken in unison by both parties involved, the final call should always lie with only the selectors.
“Over the last year the selection committee has been giving the team management the replacements they have asked for and that is because of the fact that the choice of the selection committee has been coinciding with the choice of the team management.”
“They would however do well to accept the fact that it is not the job of the team management to select the squad or to insist on specific players as that can prove to be deeply conflicted decision making. That job is of the selection committee alone and even the office bearers cannot play a role in the selection,” the official said.
The official further pointed that differences in views should be taken in the right spirit and not seen as a breakdown in communication.
“It is no surprise that the one time that there is a divergence in views, stories with motives being attributed to selectors start appearing and this must be avoided as this is unhealthy for Indian cricket and for the team management,” the official said.
As per the email written on June 28, the Indian team management has asked for openers Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal to join the side, but questions were being raised about whether the chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma was on the same page as the think-tank.