Former India pacer Raju Kulkarni appointed chairman of Mumbai’s men senior selection committee

Kulkarni will return as a Mumbai selector after almost two decades, having been a part of Dilip Vengsarkar’s selection committee for four years starting 2002-03.

File Photo: Kulkarni will replace Sunil More, who served as the interim chairman after Salil Ankola was appointed national selector midway through the last season. | Photo Credit: THE HINDU ARCHIVES

Raju Kulkarni, the former India pacer, has been appointed as the chairman of Mumbai’s men’s senior selection committee for the forthcoming domestic season. 

Kulkarni will thus replace Sunil More, who served as the interim chairman after Salil Ankola was appointed national selector midway through the last season.

The Mumbai Cricket Association announced selection panels on Wednesday after the Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) headed by Lalchand Rajput conducted interviews of shortlisted candidates last week.

Kulkarni will thus return as a Mumbai selector after almost two decades, having been a part of Dilip Vengsarkar’s selection committee for four years starting 2002-03.

“It will be different and it’s an exciting challenge. Once all the appointments are made, I am looking forward to contributing in a bid to take Mumbai cricket forward,” Kulkarni told  Sportstar on Wednesday.

Sanjay Patil and Ravi Thakkar, the left-arm spin duo, have returned to the selection committee after a break, while Kiran Powar has been appointed a senior selector for the first time. Jeetendra Thackeray is the only survivor from the last season’s panel.

The MCA is expected to announce Amol Muzumdar’s successor as the head coach. Seven candidates, including former coaches Sameer Dighe and Vinayak Samant, have applied for the post.

The selection committees

Men

Senior and Under-23: Raju Kulkarni (Chairman), Sanjay Patil, Ravi Thakkar, Jeetendra Thackeray, Kiran Powar.

Under-19: Mandar Phadke, Bhavin Thakkar, Jayprakash Jadhav, Vikrant Yeligatti, Piyush Soneji.

Under-16: Deepak Jadhav (Chairman), Umesh Gotkhindikar, Prashant Sawant, Girish Patki, Amol Bhalekar.

Under-14: Ravi Kulkarni (Chairman), Bravish Shetty, Rohan Raje, Onkar Khanvilkar, Azim Khan.

Women

Senior: Laya Francis (Chairperson), Seema Pujare, Shraddha Chavan, Kalpana Cardoso, Sheetal Sakru.

Under-19: Sunita Singh (Chairperson), Sangeeta Kamat, Nirmala Sahi, Kalpana Murkar, Aparna Chavan.

Under-15: Manish More (Chairman), Ashish Mahadeshwar, Swati Patil, Nancy Daruwala, Nilima Patil.