Sack the selection panel
March 6, 2006The selection panel keeps making a joke of themselves. I had spoken regarding the inconsistencies which they are displaying. It keeps getting worse.
First, Mr. More decides to state that Sourav Ganguly will not find a place in the squad in the tenure of the current selection panel:
We took a decision that we have to look ahead. We decided that so much has been said on this issue, that we wanted to send a message across that, this is what we are looking at, and as far as this committee is concerned, this is what we have decided, that we will not look back at. We are definitely looking beyond Ganguly even if he were to perform well in domestic cricket.
How can they say the selection committee has shut the door completely on any player? We do not know what a player will do in the future, what situation the team is going to be in. If Ganguly decides to carry on playing, which he has, it is his right. To rule out any player, despite his age or just because he isn’t performing to satisfactory levels of a panel speaks of autocracy. The statements made by Kiran More have been irresponsbile. They show an irrational streak and lack of judgement - lack of qualities which show a chairman of a selection panel cannot do the job at hand with discretion and maturity which is required.
Other teams have looked ahead in the past and it is not uncommon to look beyond specific players. Australia have done it with Steve Waugh Mark Waugh, Michael Bevan, Darren Lehmann and Matthew Hayden. India may well have done it with V.V.S.Laxman and Anil Kumble recently. Even during the captaincy of Ganguly, Robin Singh was discarded on the same lines.
