Several former Indian cricketers such as Nayan Mongia, Maninder Singh, Shiv Sunder Das, Hemang Badani and Ajay Ratra are reported to have applied for the job of the next selection panel of the Indian national cricket team, after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sacked the incumbent panel following the team’s ouster in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in the semi-finals stage.
The BCCI is expected to appoint a Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) to conduct the interviews with the applicants and help the board in making the decision over the appointment of the new selection panel. The deadline for the applications closed on Monday, November 28 and the first assignment for the new selection panel will be to name the squad to face Sri Lanka at home in early 2023.
According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, the current committee led by former India fast bowler Chetan Sharma will remain in place and are currently following the action of the ongoing Vijay Hazare trophy closely as well as the Cooch Behar Trophy.
The former Indian opening batsman Shiv Sundar Das is currently operating as a batting coach of the Punjab side. In the past he has worked as one of the coaches of the national cricket Academy as well as with the Indian women’s team. If he is appointed, he will obviously be replacing the former Odisha teammate Debasis Mohanty, who has completed his five-year term as a selector having served previously in junior cricket.
Former India all-rounder Hemang Badani is also understood to be in the race to become one of India’s selectors. Though he has not categorically confirmed or denied the reports, he will be a strong candidate to join the panel. He currently works with the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a fielding coach and has had a successful run as a head coach of the Chepauk Super Gillies, in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) where they have won three consecutive titles.
Meanwhile, former India cricketers Deep Das Gupta and Laxmi Ratan Shukla have confirmed that they have not applied for the job. A former wicket-keeper, Deep Das Gupta has worked as a broadcaster for a long time now and Laxmi Ratan Shukla has recently taken over as the head coach of the Bengal team from former Indian cricketer Arun Lal.
