Debashish Mohanty from Odisha appointed to senior national selection panel

New Delhi: Former India speedsters Debashish Mohanty, Chetan Sharma and Abey Kuruvilla were on Thursday added to the senior national selection panel, and they will replace Sarandeep Singh, Jatin Paranjape, and Devang Gandhi, whose tenures ended in September, it was announced on Thursday.

Sharma, 54, will be chairman of the five-man panel.

The trio will join former India left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi and pace bowler Harvinder Singh who were picked as selectors in March, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.

“The committee further recommended Mr Chetan Sharma for the role of Chairman of the senior men’s selection committee based on seniority (total number of Test matches). The CAC [Cricket Advisory Committee] will review the candidates after a one-year period and make the recommendations to the BCCI,” it said.

“I am really thankful to BCCI for having trust in me and I will give my more than 100 per cent for Indian cricket,” Sharma told IANS.

The CAC, comprising Madan Lal, Rudra Pratap Singh, and Sulakshana Naik, had on Thursday met virtually and conducted interviews to select three members of the senior selection committee.

The interviews lasted between 11.30 am to 4 pm and were done virtually.

Altogether 11 candidates had applied for the four posts: Chetan Sharma, Maninder Singh, Vijay Dahiya, Ajay Ratra, Nikhil Chopra, Ajit Agarkar, Abey Kuruvilla, Nayan Mongia, Shiv Sundar Das, Debashish Mohanty and Ranadeb Bose.

International experience of selectors picked on Thursday:
Chetan Sharma (Age 54): 23 Tests, 65 ODIs
Abey Kuruvilla (Age 52): 10 Tests, 25 ODIs
Debashish Mohanty (Age 44): 2 Tests, 45 ODIs

International experience of selectors picked in March:
Sunil Joshi (Age 50 years): 15 Tests, 69 ODIs
Harvinder Singh (Age 43): 3 Tests, 16 ODIs

(With IANS inputs)