Former committee members Chetan Sharma and Harvinder Singh re-apply for BCCI selector’s role

Just a few days after losing their position as selectors of the Indian team, Chetan Sharma and Harvinder Singh have reportedly re-applied for the same role at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Sharma had served as the chief selector, but he and the entire selection committee were shown the way out down due to the unimpressive decisions taken over the last couple of years.

November 28 was set as the deadline to apply for the selector’s position and according to the latest reports, there have been 60 applicants including former members Sharma and Singh. Meanwhile, veteran spinner Sunil Joshi and former pacer Debashish Mohanty, who were also a part of the committee, have not re-applied.

According to reports in The Indian Express, S Sharath, who now chairs the junior selection committee, has also applied for the position. In addition to these well-known figures, the list also includes Venkatesh Prasad, Dodda Ganesh, Maninder Singh, Nikhil Chopra, Atul Wassan, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Nayan Mongia, SS Das, Salil Ankola, Sameer Dighe, Ajay Ratra, Gyanendra Pandey, Jacob Martin, Subroto Banerjee, and Iqbal Siddiqui.

Will Chetan Sharma be reconsidered for a new term?

During Chetan Sharma’s term as the BCCI chief selector, the Indian team did showcase extraordinary performances in the bilateral series including a historic 2-1 Test series triumph in Australia in January 2021, but they could not replicate the same level of success in multi-nation tournaments.

India lost the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship final to New Zealand in June last year and failed to make it to the knockouts of the T20 World Cup in the UAE later that year.

This year, the Men in Blue failed to qualify for the Asia Cup final and after their ouster at the T20 World Cup down under following a humiliating 10-wicket defeat to the eventual champions England, the BCCI wasted no time and sacked the entire Chetan Sharma-led selection committee on November 18.

Former pacer Abey Kuruvilla’s tenure had ended earlier and he was not given an extension which possibly signalled that the BCCI was planning to revamp the entire selection committee.