Gavaskar Lashes Out at BCCI Selectors, Calls Them “Lame Ducks”

File picture of Sunil Gavaskar who has criticised the Indian selection committee and called them “lame ducks”.

(Photo: PTI) 

There is flutter in the dovecotes. Sunil Gavaskar is angry and disgusted with the whole World Cup fiasco and the role played by the selection committee since. Furious at the conduct of the MSK Prasad-helmed selection committee, he reckons its lack of stature impedes its progress and ability to take decisions.

Selectors ‘Lame Ducks’

He argued that they selected the team for West Indies without first having a meeting to select the captain, which begs the question of whether Virat Kohli is the captain of the team at his or the selection committee's pleasure.

These are pertinent points being made by one of the game's eminents, someone whose heart has always beat for Indian cricket.

"Speaking of lame ducks, the Indian selection committee appears to be one. After the reappointment, he (captain) gets invited to the meeting for his views on the selecting the players for the team. By bypassing the procedure, the message that goes out is that while the players like Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik get dropped after below expectations performance, the captain continues despite much below par expectations where the team did not even reach the finals."

‘Lack of Stature’ an Impediment

Continuing his attack against the selection committee which consists of former players Sarandeep Singh, Devang Gandhi, Jatin Paranjape and Gagan Khoda besides Prasad, Gavaskar said that the lack of "stature" in the group was an impediment in their smooth functioning.

None of the current selectors had long careers in India colours and in fact two -- Paranjape and Khoda -- didn't play a single Test, featuring only in a few ODIs. "This is probably one of the last selections for this committee as a new one will get appointed soon," he wrote. "Hopefully that will have players of stature who will not get bullied and be able to tell the team management that their job is to play with the team chosen by the selectors."