Mumbai: Chetan Sharma, the BCCI Chairman of Selectors of the senior men’s team, has stepped down from his position after being embroiled in an undercover TV sting operation, media reports said on Friday.
Sharma’s resignation was accepted by BCCI secretary Jay Shah. “BCCI Chief Selector Chetan Sharma resigns from his post. He sent his resignation to BCCI Secretary Jay Shah who accepted it,” tweeted a news agency. Sharma, who was reinstated as the Chief Selector after India’s bitter-sweet campaign at the T20 World Cup in Australia, got into trouble after he was heard spilling insider information in a ‘sting operation’ by ZEE Media.
The Chief Selector’s explosive remarks created a ruckus in Indian cricket. In his series of revelations, Sharma alleged that several Indian players take injections to fast-track their comeback to international cricket. Sharma opened up about an ‘ego clash’ between former Indian skipper Virat Kohli and ex-BCCI President Sourav Ganguly. Batting icon Kohli had stepped down as India’s captain when Ganguly was at the helm.
When Kohli relinquished India’s captaincy, Ganguly asserted that the BCCI had asked him to reconsider his decision. However, Kohli contradicted Ganguly by revealing that the decision was declared a ‘progressive step’ by the apex Indian cricket board at the time. Veteran opener Rohit was appointed as India’s captain across all formats in 2022.
Besides giving insights about internal discussions involving head coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit, Chief Selector Sharma also claimed that he was at loggerheads with the management over Bumrah’s return. The Indian pacer has struggled to make a comeback into the national side after his back injury. Pacer Bumrah is expected to miss the remainder of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The star pacer is also doubtful for the One Day International (ODI) series against Australia in the World Cup year.
Sharma had returned as head of the selection committee in January this year. Sharma, being the “seniormost Test cap” as prescribed in BCCI’s rulebook, had continued to be the Chief Selector for the third year in succession.
Sharma, the pacer with 23 Test and 65 ODI caps, had been the Chief Selector since he was inducted into the panel in December 2020. With him at the helm, India has had disappointing campaigns in consecutive T20 World Cups in 2021 and 2022.
Sharma’s exit means India’s selection panel now comprises Salil Ankola, SS Das, Subroto Banerjee and S Sharath. The BCCI is yet to appoint a new chairman.
