Sourav Ganguly Regularly Attends Team Selection Meetings Violating Protocols

Mar 5, 2022 at 11:19 AM

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Sourav Ganguly Regularly Attends Team Selection Meetings Violating Protocols

Sourav Ganguly, BCCI President regularly attends team selection meetings even though the rules suggest otherwise. As per the constitution of the BCCI, the board president has no role in selection meetings; however, a report has quoted a couple of former members of the selection committee claiming that Sourav Ganguly is indeed present during the Indian team selection meetings.

BCCI constitution bars its president from having any role in picking the national team in order to retain the independence and autonomy of the selection committee.

Sourav Ganguly. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Sourav Ganguly. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Sourav Ganguly Regularly Attends Team Selection Meetings Violating Protocols

The President is shorn of his say in selections according to the Supreme Court-approved constitution. The only BCCI office-bearer authorized to be present is the secretary, who acts as a convenor without a say in the selection.

Three past and present selectors under Sourav Ganguly’s tenure confirmed that he was a regular feature at selection meetings. A senior BCCI functionary went to the extent of claiming that Sourav Ganguly has attended every selection meeting since he took over as BCCI president in October 2019.

Two selectors said Sourav Ganguly would log in for online selection meetings and because of his stature and position, no one could object. One of them revealed that they often felt “bullied” by his presence.

“It made many committee members uncomfortable and guarded in expressing their opinion,” said the selector, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Sourav Ganguly with former selector MSK Prasad, BCCI secretary Jay Shah, cricketers Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and players and officials in 2019. (BCCI)
Sourav Ganguly with former selector MSK Prasad, BCCI secretary Jay Shah, cricketers Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and players and officials in 2019. (BCCI)

With Sourav Ganguly as BCCI chief, the selection committee has taken some key decisions, including the ouster of Virat Kohli as ODI skipper and captaincy for Rohit Sharma across formats.

Multiple sources in BCCI confirmed Sourav Ganguly’s presence at selection meetings. They said that considering the former captain’s stature, who has played 113 Tests and 311 One-day Internationals, the less-experienced selectors were reluctant to express their opinions which undermined the power of Indian cricket’s all-important decision-making committee.

The current chairman of selectors, Chetan Sharma, has featured in 23 Tests and 65 One-day Internationals and his predecessor MSK Prasad in six Tests and 17 ODIs. The combined experience of the current group of selectors, which also includes Debashish Mohanty, Sunil Joshi, and Harvinder Singh, is 43 Tests and 195 ODIs. The previous panel had played nine Tests and 28 ODIs between them.

Sourav Ganguly’s proximity to the selection committee first came to light on October 24, 2019, a day after he was elected BCCI president, when the board tweeted a picture with a caption: “All smiles at the Senior Selection Committee meeting earlier this afternoon as the teams for the forthcoming T20I & Test series against Bangladesh were announced.”

About allegations of him influencing team selection, Sourav Ganguly said: “I don’t think I need to answer anybody, anything (on this) and dignify any of these baseless accusations. I am the president of the BCCI and I do the job of what the president of the BCCI should be doing. (I have played) 424 international matches for India. Not a bad idea at times to remind people about it, isn’t it?”

The image showed Sourav Ganguly seated between the then chief selector, MSK Prasad, and BCCI secretary Jay Shah, along with the then skipper Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and other selectors. Recently, when the picture started doing the rounds again on social media, Sourav Ganguly denied the frame was from a selection meeting.

Sourav Ganguly Assured Wriddhiman Saha Of His Place In The Indian Team But It Changed And He Lost His Place In Sri Lanka Tests

Last month, Wriddhiman Saha spoke about the message he had received from Sourav Ganguly after scoring a half-century against New Zealand despite a neck injury.

“After scoring 61 against New Zealand at Kanpur, Dadi (Ganguly) congratulated me over WhatsApp and mentioned, ‘As long as I’m here (helming the BCCI), you would be in the team’. Such a message from the BCCI president really boosted my confidence. What I’m struggling to understand is how things have changed so fast,”Saha said, referring to his omission from the team for the Sri Lanka series.

India Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha (Photo | PTI)
India Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha (Photo | PTI.

Wriddhiman Saha said that when he had hit an unbeaten 61 taking a pain-killer in the first Test against New Zealand, last November, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly congratulated him over WhatsApp, and even mentioned that he should not worry about anything so long as he is at the helm of the BCCI.

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