MSK Prasad finally came to know of his successor as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) picked Sunil Joshi as the new selection committee chief while Harvinder Singh replaced Gagan Khoda in the selection panel on Thursday. Prasad, who has been the chairman of the selection committee since 2015, reflected back on his tenure with pride in his eyes while admitting to have made some tough calls during his reign.
Speaking to Cricbuzz after seeing his tenure coming to an end, MSK revealed which two decisions he found the most difficult to take during his 5-year stay.
“Dropping (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Ravindra) Jadeja from white-ball cricket or preparing a successor for MS Dhoni, both were challenging,” Prasad asserted.
The selectors and the Indian team management dealt with heavy criticism as Ashwin and Jadeja found themselves being limited to red-ball cricket only. Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav replaced the in India’s squad for both T20Is and ODIs and produced some emphatic performances to quickly cement their spots.
While Jadeja gradually made his way back into the white-ball setup, courtesy his all-round abilities, Ashwin wasn’t even considered for the shorter formats.
MSK also spoke about the big void created with the departures Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni (though MSD is still to call time on his international career), the ex-chief selector admitted that finding replacements for the two legends has been tough.
“Dhoni and Yuvraj are legends and I don’t really see anyone stepping into those shoes. It is tough to deal with. Our fundamental job is to identify fresh talent, groom them and induct them when the need arises,” he said.
The debate over Dhoni’s career in the Indian team has continued despite the 38-year-old not playing any cricket for the past 7 months. How the whole saga will unfold post the IPL 2020, will be interesting to see.
