All the legends take guard at BCCI

Even as Vengsarkar takes over as selection committee chairman, Kapil Dev replaces Gavaskar as chairman of National Cricket Academy.

MUMBAI: Dilip Vengsarkar, a former India captain, has been appointed chairman of the national selection committee. Vengsarkar’s appointment was expected as the West Zone members of the cricket board endorsed his candidature unanimously. It was approved at the Annual General Meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) here on Wednesday. Vengsarkar replaces Kiran More.

His appointment comes on a day when Sunil Gavaskar, another former India captain, goes out of the the National Cricket Academy. He has been replaced by Kapil Dev, also former India captain. However, Gavaskar stays  chairman of the Board’s technical committee.

The Board officials refused to read too much into the appointment of Kapil Dev or in the replacement of Gavaskar. “Every one goes out. We’ll go out in two years. We’ve made the change in the NCA for the sake of having a change,” Board secretary Niranjan Shah told DNA.

N Srinivasan, who made the announcement, said it was just a routine change. “Every year there are changes in the top posts,” the Board treasurer said. Meanwhile, Kapil Dev refused to react on his appointment. “I am waiting for an official letter from the BCCI first. Then I will comment on my plans. Earlier, they (BCCI) had asked me — ‘is that (the chairmanship) okay’, but now I have to get the letter. I can’t react on the basis of their announcement to the media,” he told DNA in New Delhi.

Vengsarkar’s appointment was cleared at a meeting of the West Zone member-associations on Wednesday morning. Gujarat Cricket Association, the lone dissenting voice, pulled back its candidate Mukund Parmar saying it is willing to wait for two more years. “We’ll wait for our turn. We’ve agreed on Vengsarkar because the chairmanship will stay with the West Zone,” said a GCA official.

Apart from Vengsarkar, Venkatapathy Raju will be the other new member in the selection committee. Raju, as reported by DNA, comes from the South in place of VB Chandrasekhar. The other three selectors — Ranjib Biswal (East), Sanjay Jagdale (Central) and Bhupinder Singh (North) — got their terms extended by two more years. The first assignment of the committee will be select the Rest of India team for the Irani Trophy, to be held from October 9 to 13.

—Inputs from Manish Kumar