‘Many people involved in selection meetings should not have been’: Shastri | Cricket
under Ravi ShastriDuring his tenure as the head coach of Team India, the team made a lot of progress to become one of the best traveling teams in the game. While an ICC title was always far away Indian team Under Shastri’s leadership, the team recorded a memorable series win over Australia Down Under, and also had strong performances in England and South Africa, registering limited-overs series wins in New Zealand.
Shastri left the role after the T20 World Cup in 2021, following a chaotic few months for Indian cricket; While Virat Kohli was dropped as captain in ODIs, the star batsman stepped down from the leadership role in Tests a month later. Kohli also had differences with then-BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, and there were reports that the board chief was also present at selection meetings during his tenure.
It has been over a year since then, and Shastri has finally opened up on the selection meetings that used to take place during his tenure. The former head coach revealed that he has never been a part of one, but said that the meetings included many people who were “not” meant to attend.
“I have zero direct experience. In the seven years I was part of the team, I never went near a selection meeting. I wasn’t even invited. I think, in the long run, yes. As a coach You spend a lot of time with the boys, that’s important; not in a voting capacity, but at least to hear what the selectors are thinking, what their thinking is. And then decide what’s right for the team ESPNcricinfo When asked for insight on the discussions that took place during the selection meeting.
“I have zero idea how it starts, and how it ends, and who is in the meeting. From the information I have got, there were a lot of people in the selection meetings in the last 3-4 years, who should not have been there. It is against the Constitution,” Shastri further said.
Ganguly had quit his role as BCCI president in October last year, with Roger Binny taking over the role of the former captain. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma took over the full-time captaincy across all formats last year before Hardik Pandya began leading the Indian team in T20Is from early 2023. Both Rohit and Kohli were not part of either of India’s two T20I series this year.
