The main point of interest at this year’s AGM will be the appointment of the selection committee as the procedures for the nomination of the selectors are completely revised.
September is normally a busy month for the cricketing fraternity as it is time for the AGM of the BCCI. A lot of whispers with regard to several issues do the rounds during this time. However, the coming AGM (scheduled to be held in Mumbai on September 27 and 28) is all set for a smooth sailing.
Shashank Manohar will take over as the President with a new team in place. The list of office-bearers is more or less settled and this will facilitate better and quick decisions at the AGM with regard to having the various committees in place.
The main point of interest at this year’s AGM will be the appointment of the selection committee as the procedures for the nomination of the selectors are completely revised. For the benefit of the readers, until now the selector for each zone was decided at the zonal level and his candidature was accepted by the BCCI. But from the coming AGM, the selectors will be picked by the higher echelons of the BCCI from a list of candidates who have been short-listed.
The selectors until now were executing an extremely challenging job on an honorary basis and that is set to change too as the BCCI has taken a decision to compensate the selectors on an annual basis. This is a welcome move as the selectors put in a lot of time and effort to pick the best possible team to represent the country. There has been a long-standing grouse that the selectors were subjected to criticism at all times — at times unjustifiably — and that too when they were doing an honorary job! There was more than reasonable merit in that, and now that it is no longer an honorary job, the BCCI, quite rightly, has decided to take it upon itself to decide on the candidates for the selection committee.
The five-member selection committee will continue and it is suffice to say that in a large country like ours, each zone needs to have a representative in the National committee for more reasons than one.
The new selection committee will have an onerous task of not only planning for the future but also of displaying a lot of tact and courage as several established players are on their last legs who need to be evaluated in a very balanced manner. The fabulous four along with the current Test captain will have to be given respect for their achievements in the past but at the same time they need to be selected on current form apart from gauging their shelf life. This is a tricky balance and the key to achieving it will depend on how cohesively the new committee works.
It is not a case of just being predetermined about easing out some high quality cricketers but about getting the right players into the team with an eye on the future. With India co-hosting the next World Cup, the expectations will be high and as such the selectors need to be clear about the short-term as well as the long-term objectives. The next three years will be a pivotal phase in Indian cricket not only with regard to building a team but also for planning and organising as the BCCI will be expected to put up a flawless performance in organising the 2011 World Cup.
As things stand today, the BCCI is in for a smooth transition in terms of administration and that will help in a big way to set the ball rolling. Since there is no animosity among the administrators, it will give hopes to a lot of aspirants trying to move up the ladder.
The umpiring fraternity will be hoping to have a couple of its umpires in the elite panel of the ICC in the coming years. The way some of the umpires are making blunders at the international level will also encourage the best of Indian umpires to keep their spirits going. After seeing the umpiring standards in the domestic circuit, there are at least a select few who look good enough to be on the ICC panel, but it remains to be seen whether that happens. However, the umpires need to realise that they need to improve on their consistency, just as the cricketers are expected to.
With India taking on Australia next month, it will be interesting to see if the new selection committee will carry the baton that is handed to them by Vengsarkar and Co. Sourav Ganguly will be hoping that they don’t, but here again it is not the individual but the requirements of the team that should gain precedence. It will be a case of being on the go for the new selection committee as well as the new management of the BCCI as there are a lot of things that need attention. And by the time we get to September 2009, a lot of things would have gained some sort of shape.
Given the harmony that is prevailing amongst the incoming office-bearers, one can rest assured that Indian cricket is heading for an exciting and productive period.
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