In one of those surprising moves, the selection panel led by the former Indian fast bowler Ajit Agarkar quits from their respective roles. It is learnt that there is some miscommunication between them and the board after the performances of the players in the recent past.
According to reports, their resignation comes on the same day ahead of the Mumbai Cricket Association’s ad-hoc committee meeting that was set to remove the selectors from their positions.
As per the news in The Hindu, the selectors emailed their resignation letters to the ad-hoc committee and MCA chief executive C.S. Naik. Earlier, a group of members in a Special General Meeting (SGM) last month had passed a resolution to sack the selection panel.
Hopefully, we can solve them quickly – Raju Kulkarni
The selectors were under pressure after a Special General Meeting of the MCA member units had passed a resolution to sack them. The matter had then come up to the Cricket Improvement Committee which backed the selectors. Meanwhile, it is understood that the current ad hoc committee took a legal opinion on the issue before it met.
“We all agreed that the will to succeed is missing. We asked them why they were not playing like old Mumbai teams. The team is going to work on that. Hopefully, we can solve those (issues),” said Raju Kulkarni. He said that after a meeting that lasted more than five hours as per Mid-day.
This is not the way to treat ex-cricketers:
Meanwhile, one of the sources felt that wasn’t a good thing for Mumbai Cricket to remove the personalities of such a great reputation without even asking them. He added that Ajit Agarkar-led panel was hurt by the decision of MCA.
“This is no way to treat ex-cricketers who have served Mumbai and India with distinction. The selectors quit because if they would have been sacked today, a dangerous precedent would have been set. They are against this entire process of removing the selectors. They are clearly hurt that the MCA didn’t back them. And also, their integrity and cricketing acumen was questioned,” said a source as per Cricbuzz.
However, after winning the 50-over domestic tournament (Vijay Hazare Trophy) Mumbai failed to progress to the knockout stages of the prestigious Ranji Trophy. Meanwhile, in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, they were eliminated in the Super League stage.