MUMBAI, 23 November 2007 — Whenever a long rope is given, it will have been seen that it does not take much time for it to turn into a noose. That is exactly what has happened to India’s national cricket selectors.
No regime of the Board of Control for Cricket in India before Sharad Pawar’s present one had given the selectors so much liberty to do what they wished, indulge in travels and tours and even express their opinions publicly, and what not.
The chairman of the selection committee Dilip Vengsarkar, in particular, went so far as to take upon himself the job of a de facto team manager, coach and critic. From the time that he was appointed as the head of the committee, he attended all of India’s matches at home and abroad. He sat throughout with the players in the dressing room and even ventured out on the field during the practice sessions. He gave the impression that he had a brief to do so. Meanwhile, he continued to comment on players and their performances in his newspaper columns and on television. Some of the other selectors, not to be treated unfairly, were also allowed to go abroad occasionally. But they were not permanent members of the Indian squad as Vengsarkar veritably was.
Now, suddenly, the BCCI has come down heavily on the freewheeling selectors. They have been told that no selector need go abroad with the Indian team and that only one of them would be required to attend international matches at home. Instead, they should spend time watching games in domestic cricket. The harshest step is a gag on their writing newspaper columns and expressing their views on television.
How and why did this BCCI diktat emerge? It was Rahul Dravid who first tried to resist the pressure of Vengsarkar all along in the dressing room, on the field and at team meetings. Not the one to make an issue, the Indian captain let it be known to higher-ups about his displeasure. But nothing happened. Things came to a head during the Oval Test in England last summer, when Dravid was pressurized by a couple of senior players and the chairman of selectors (Vengsarkar) not to enforce the follow-on despite a huge 300-plus lead on the first innings. England were thus able to draw a match which India should have won hands down. As a fallout, the first thing that Dravid did as soon as the tour was over, was to relinquish the captaincy.
During the home one-day series against Australia, the new captain Dhoni felt similar pressure with the presence of selectors in the dressing room. He was more assertive and during the series against Pakistan, he insisted that no selector enter the dressing room, nor come on the field during the training sessions.
It was learned that Anil Kumble, the newly-appointed Test captain, has discussed the same matter with the high functionaries of the Board. The talk that three of the five selectors have threatened to quit is without any basis. The only one to write newspaper column and seek frequent television interviews is Vengsarkar. He is the only one who is miffed. The Board’s new order for selectors could not have come a day too soon. We have seen former players like Sir Vivian Richards, Merv Hughes and David Boon come to India as chairman of their country’s selection committee. But they had never been seen in the dressing rooms or even with the players on the field.
They had kept their distance and had spoken to the captain only when approached. They have known how awkward their presence had been for the team. Would the present BCCI order be enforced strictly, or will there be a climb down? Then players on their part cannot fight the selectors, but the administrators can certainly discipline the selectors, at least for the sake of the team.
