Toby Marshall
Chetan Sharma, the former Indian cricketer and chairman of selectors, resigns from his post after being caught in an undercover TV sting operation. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) accepted his resignation, according to a report by ANI.
On February 14, an Indian TV news channel released video footage of Sharma discussing various matters related to the national team, which included allegations of issues between Virat Kohli and former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, as well as Jasprit Bumrah’s injury. It seems that Sharma was not aware that he was being recorded at the time.
Sharma was reinstated as the chief selector in January after the BCCI removed the entire selection panel in November following India’s semi-final defeat in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. Sharma continued to serve as the chief selector until a new selection panel was put in place, with him once again holding the position of chairman.
In the video, Sharma spoke about Virat Kohli’s captaincy episode and future captaincy plans for Indian cricket. He revealed the thinking behind the committee’s decision to sack Kohli as ODI skipper.
According to Chetan, the process of removing someone from captaincy is the responsibility of the selectors, and in this case, they decided to have a single white-ball captain and therefore removed Virat Kohli from the ODI captaincy. Chetan added that this is a standard procedure, and Kohli himself was aware of it. Chetan further explained that after Kohli resigned from the T20I captaincy, the selectors made the decision to remove him from the ODI captaincy as well.
Kohli had previously announced his retirement from the T20I format before the 2021 T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, and the tournament marked his final captaincy stint. But after India’s disappointing first-round exit from the World Cup, Kohli – who was looking to continue to lead India in ODIs – was removed from captaincy.
The video also included allegations that the Indian players were taking injections for fitness. The allegations, directly or obliquely, made the BCCI complicit in the unfair practice in which the players allegedly resorted to accelerating their return to the national team despite not being fully fit.
The voluntary exit by the chief selector has made things simple for the BCCI, which would have otherwise had to be engaged in a long-winded disciplinary procedure starting with a show-cause notice, a temporary imposition of suspension, a formal hearing, and then a decision from the Ethics Officer.
Sharma’s resignation now leaves the Indian cricket team without a chairman of the selection committee midway through the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy vs Australia. After announcing the squad for the first two tests, the Chetan Sharma’s selection committee is yet to announce it for the next two.
With Sharma’s resignation, the selection panel for India now includes Salil Ankola, SS Das, Subroto Banerjee, and S Sharath, while the BCCI has yet to appoint a new chairman. Sharma, who played 23 Test matches and 65 ODIs for India from 1984 to 1994, is 57 years old.
According to a BCCI official, a decision on the ongoing series and selection issues will be made soon, but it’s certain that cricket will not be impacted as it remains a top priority.
India are currently playing the four-Test series vs Australia, with the second Test underway at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. India registered a thumping win in the series opener, and the action from Delhi will shift to Indore for the third Test before the final match of the series takes place in Ahmedabad.
In conclusion, Chetan Sharma resigns as India’s chairman of selectors, and it has caused a quite a stir in the cricketing world.
Jasprit Bumrah, the Indian pacer, has successfully undergone surgery in New Zealand for his persistent back issues, which caused him to miss almost six months of international cricket. The 29-year-old star player missed the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup in Australia last year due to this recurring back injury. His last appearance for Rohit Sharma's Team India was in September 2022.
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