India Cricket Overhaul: India T20 Reboot: Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma can breathe a sigh of relief. The BCCI has postponed the review meeting until December. The Indian board will wait for the new Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) and Selection Committee to take charge. The meeting will now happen after India vs Bangladesh series. The new CAC will take charge in 2nd week of December while the new selection committee will be in place by December end. The BCCI was supposed to meet Rohit & Rahul in Mumbai before India tour of Bangladesh. Follow IND vs BAN LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
“No, we have decided to have the meeting at a later date. The planning for next World Cup should have inputs from two very important stakeholders — CAC and selectors. Once they take charge, we will speak to Rohit and Rahul about how to go about it. Besides, we do not have any T20s in next 15 days. The next series is Sri Lanka and before that, we will have both CAC and selection committee in place,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport.
India Cricket Overhaul: BCCI postpones REVIEW meeting with Rohit Sharma & Rahul Dravid, to wait for CAC & new selection committee, Follow LIVE Updates
The primary problem is the absence of the Cricket Advisory Committee. Only RP Singh and Sulakshana Naik remain on the CAC. Madan Lal stepped down after he hit the 70-year-old ceiling after T20 WC 2021. Without CAC, new selection committee can’t be announced. Hence, the BCCI needs to appoint the CAC first before moving to selection committee.
“CAC will shortlist the applications and call shortlisted candidates for interview. Yes, we understand Cricket Advisory Committee at this stage is not functional. We will get that going soon. We will announce new CAC soon,” a top BCCI official told InsideSport.
Hence, the BCCI cannot go ahead with review meeting and selection committee appointment without a CAC. But as for captaincy, Rohit Sharma will stay put for ODI World Cup 2023.
“We will get both in place by December. The new selection committee will select the squad for home series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand,” the official reiterated.
India Cricket Overhaul: BCCI postpones REVIEW meeting with Rohit Sharma & Rahul Dravid, to wait for CAC & new selection committee, Follow LIVE Updates
But will the new selection committee have enough time?
- Considering, BCCI is yet to make a move on the CAC, it is unlikely.
- Despite eligible candidates, CAC is not a position everyone wants to take.
- First, the candidates must resign from their existing assignments to avoid conflict of interest allegations.
- As a CAC is not functional throughout the year, not everyone wants to take that important job.
- Even if the CAC comes in place by December 15, the interview process for the selection committee will take at least 7-10 days.
- The new selection committee will not have enough time to take important calls such as on captaincy or split coaching.
- Hence, expect the review meeting to be pushed to January after Sri Lanka series.
- Hardik Pandya is likely to lead in the T20s with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli taking a break from T20s to focus on ODIs and Tests.
India Cricket Overhaul: Top items on agenda
- Split coaching (Specialised coach for T20 team)
- Split Captaincy (Rohit Sharma may be asked to step down from T20s with Hardik Pandya taking charge)
- Review of T20 WC
- Review of current coaches
- Selection committee’s rotation policy
Split captaincy: However, BCCI is in dilemma at the moment. Virat Kohli was removed as ODI and Test captain as they did not want split capitancy. But with Rohit Sharma ageing and a need to set plans for 2024 T20 WC have forced the board to rethink. Rohit Sharma will stay put as the ODI. A discussion on ODI and Test captaincy will only take place after 2023 WC.
However, InsideSport understands that BCCI is ready to take the bold step and appoint a new captain. With not many T20s scheduled in 2023, Hardik Pandya will take charge of the T20 team.
Split Captaincy: With more and more bilateral series, a need to look at alternatives is much-needed. BCCI could follow England’s footsteps in this regard. Although Dravid will stay on as the ODI coach, BCCI is mulling a decision to appoint a T20 coach. It’s not that Dravid hasn’t played T20s but like many others, he has been conservative in his approach.
“We can’t afford to lose repeatedly. We will not take chances anymore. We are already in discussion with Rohit Sharma and he is comfortable with idea of the appointment of new captain for the T20 format. We will do the same with Rahul. He without doubt is an asset. But there is too much on his plate and we want to reduce his load. We will soon meet him,” confirmed the top BCCI official.
India Cricket Overhaul: BCCI postpones REVIEW meeting with Rohit Sharma & Rahul Dravid, to wait for CAC & new selection committee, Follow LIVE Updates
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