Former India all-rounder Chetan Sharma was on Thursday appointed chairman of the senior national selection panel by the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which also picked Mumbai’s Abey Kuruvilla and Odisha’s Debasis Mohanty in the five-member team. The new panel was formed on the sidelines of the Board’s 89th Annual General Meeting (AGM) here, with Sharma pipping Maninder Singh and Vijay Dahiya from the north zone.
“It’s indeed a privilege for me to get an opportunity to serve Indian cricket once again. I am a man of few words and my action will speak louder than words,” Sharma, who has a five-wicket haul at Lord’s in a Test match, told PTI.
“I can only thank BCCI for this opportunity,” the 54-year-old added.
Former medium pacer Kuruvilla, who was backed by Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) bigwigs, was preferred over a more decorated Ajit Agarkar from the west zone.
Mohanty, a former India seamer from Odisha, was serving as junior national selector for the last two years and will remain in the committee for another couple of years only.
The selection panel also comprises former India players Sunil Joshi (south zone) and Harvinder Singh (central zone).
“The committee further recommended Chetan Sharma for the role of chairman of the senior men’s selection committee based on seniority (total number of Test matches),” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a press release.
“The CAC will review the candidates after a one-year period and make the recommendations to the BCCI,” Shah added.
As per the BCCI constitution, the candidate with the most Test caps becomes the chief selector.
Sharma represented India in 23 Tests and 65 ODIs during an 11-year-old international career, the highlight of which was his hat-trick in the 1987 World Cup.
