“They have made us scapegoats” – Ousted selector slams BCCI, accuses bigwigs for meddling in selections

The dismissed selector has made some big accusations about the BCCI

BCCI
BCCI (Image Credits: Twitter)

A day after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sacked the entire national selection panel led by Chetan Sharma in a sensational move, one of the ousted selectors has come out and criticized the Indian cricket board massively.

Many were expecting some accountability from the chief of the national selectors, Chetan Sharma. The former pace bowler was under fire since India’s Asia Cup 2022 debacle and many expected that India’s semifinal exit from the T20 World Cup 2022 was the final nail in the coffin. However, no one in the sane mind could have anticipated that the whole selection panel would face the wrath of the BCCI.

Now, one of the dismissed selectors has come out and made massive accusations against the Indian cricket board (BCCI). He has alleged that many of the bigwigs of Indian cricket have constantly interfered in the selections. In a shocking revelation, he has also added that Virat Kohli’s sacking from India’s captaincy was completely their decision.

“We have been thrown under the bus” – one of the ousted selectors accuses the BCCI

“BCCI has thrown us under the bus when they clearly know they should take the blame as well. The captaincy decision was not entirely our own. There was constant interference in selection decisions. The rotation policy in place came as advice from BCCI and it was of course logical. But they now blame us for having 8 captains in 9 months. They have made us the scapegoats,” one of the dismissed selectors told the InsideSport on the condition of anonymity.

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Over the last 12 months, many questions were raised on the selection process. From Virat Kohli’s sacking to trying 8-9 different captains across the formats showed a lot of inconsistencies in the selection. Furthermore, India’s poor record in multinational events also turned out to be one of the biggest reasons behind the sacking of the selection panel.

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However, the ousted selector has defended the selection panel by saying that the injuries are not in their hands and the player next in line was not good enough to fill the space.

“When you talk about not having a long-term plan, it’s untrue. The reason why Shami was dropped from T20 team was to make space for someone like Arshdeep. He did well. Axar got the backing to be a backup for Jadeja. But tell, is there a replacement for Ashwin? The next-in-line media talks about is Washington Sundar. He has been struggling with injuries. That is why Ashwin made a comeback. As far as team selection goes, it was never in our hands. It was up to the team management to take the call. You should ask why Chahal didn’t play in Australia,” said the former selector while questioning the BCCI.

He also talked about Virat Kohli’s removal from captaincy and emphasized that it was not entirely the selection committee’s decision.

“I won’t name anyone or a group. But it was not completely the selection committee’s decision to go with new captain for all formats. Some of us wanted to have Virat for white-ball formats until 2023 WC. But ultimately, Virat was removed. Many in the BCCI did not support multiple captains for multiple formats,” the former selector added.

The ousted selector also talked about the rotation policy in the squad and explained why India had so many captains in the last year. He also added that they were only following the instructions from the top brass.

“And as far as having 8 captains in a year is concerned, it’s important to rotate and rest players. Rohit is leading the in all three formats at 35 years of age. KL has been in and out of rehab. So, it’s only natural to go with the player next in line for captaincy,” told the now-dismissed selector to InsideSport while defending their decisions and slamming the BCCI.

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