Indian chief selector MSK Prasad has reacted to the former captain Sunil Gavaskar’s criticism saying ‘lame ducks’. The selection panel has been receiving constant criticism since India lost the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2019.
Gavaskar has questioned the selection panel over Kohli continuing as the captain of the Indian team. He felt that there should be a proper procedure for reappointing Kohli as the skipper of the team after India lost its World Cup. India being at the top of the list in the group matches of the tournaments, couldn’t lift the World Cup trophy.
Gavaskar said that India’s performance under Kohli’s captaincy was below par as they failed to reach the finals of the tournament.
“Speaking of lame ducks, the Indian selection committee appears to be one. After the reappointment, he gets invited to the meeting for his views on selecting the players for the team. By bypassing the procedure, the message that goes out is that while the players like Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik get dropped after below expectation performance, the captain continues despite much below par expectations where the team did not even reach the finals,”- Sunil Gavaskar said.
Prasad reacting to the Gavaskar statements said that criticism only makes the selection panel work hard towards their goal of improving Indian cricket.
“It is very unfortunate. We have the utmost respect for the legendary cricketers. Every opinion expressed by them is taken in right earnest. They have their viewpoints which are well-received. In fact, more than getting hurt by this kind of comments, it only makes this selection committee stronger, committed and united,” – chief selector MSK Prasad said.
Prasad made an apt reply when asked if it was right as selectors to be judged on how much cricket they have played at the highest level.
“If one is talking about stature and international experience, Ed Smith, who is the current chairman for England and Wales Cricket Board has played only one Test. Trevor Hohns, who is the chairman of Cricket Australia’s selection committee for over a decade and a half with a couple of years break in between, has played only seven Tests. And Oh yes, Mark Waugh, who played 128 Test matches and 244 ODIs, worked under Trevor,” Prasad added.
