Selectors snubbed during India vs New Zealand tie

It is reliably learnt that Patil headed for his hotel room to watch the match on television, while Rathour sat among the spectators to keep track of India's progress.

When contacted, Chairman of selection committee, Sandeep Patil refused to comment.

While India suffered an unexpected loss to New Zealand in its World T20 opener in Nagpur last Tuesday, two of the National selectors who were present at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium to assess the home team's performance, went through a shoddy experience.

Chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil and his colleague Vikram Rathour were reportedly asked to leave the President's Box of the Jamtha-based VCA Stadium, the headquarters of present Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) President Shashank Manohar's home association. It is understood that two key BCCI officials, World T20 chief coordinator Prof. Ratnakar Shetty and tournament director M.V. Sridhar, were present in the President's Box when the incident happened.

It is reliably learnt that Patil headed for his hotel room to watch the match on television, while Rathour sat among the spectators to keep track of India's progress.

When contacted, Patil refused to comment. However, sources close to the selection committee chairman indicated that Patil was determined not to visit any of the venues to watch a match in the ongoing T20 tournament.

Later, Sridhar is said to have issued an instruction to all stadiums to accommodate the national selectors during the World T20 matches.

Interestingly, this was not a one-off incident of selectors being snubbed. During his tenure as a selector, Mohinder Amarnath was not allowed to enter the Ferozeshah Kotla here for a selection committee meeting.

However, a BCCI official said that the selectors’ seating arrangement was not in the President’s Box but in another enclosure and that relevant protocol was followed.