The normal practice after a selection committee meeting is that the BCCI hon. secretary, who is also the selectors’ convenor, announces the players’ names at the media conference with the chairman of selectors by his side. This is followed by a Q&A session with the chief selector.
The normal practice after a selection committee meeting is that the BCCI hon. secretary, who is also the selectors’ convenor, announces the players’ names at the media conference with the chairman of selectors by his side. This is followed by a Q&A session with the chief selector.
However, Friday was different. With the Supreme Court showing the BCCI president and secretary the door as part of its orders for implementation of the Lodha Panel recommendations, the CEO of BCCI, Rahul Johri convened the meeting. However, only chief selector MSK Prasad, dressed spick-and-span in his suit with tie firmly in place, walked into the press conference hall about two-and-a-half hours behind schedule.
There was no convenor of the meeting to apprise the media of the reasons for the delay nor did Prasad take any question on matters other than just the selection. Even the answer as to who convened the selection came after much persuasion and Prasad stuck to his one-liner: “Today’s meeting was convened by the CEO.”
There was no clarity as to why the delay occurred. Though the media was informed by a BCCI spokesperson that the delay was due to “logistical reasons” and that “the selectors were waiting for fitness details of a couple of players so as to avoid repeat of past instances of a player showing himself fit and returning home before the start of a series injured”, the truth was far from it.
Prasad, in what is believed to be his final selection meeting and facing the media in that capacity, praised outgoing captain MS Dhoni as 'the best guy to look after youngsters', 'captain by nature' and 'leads from the front'.
However, it was his last statement that showed how much he’d miss being in the thick of it. "It is harsh on the committee," he started when asked how it felt when the current team was called the captain's team or the coach's team and not the selectors'.
"If all of you would agree with me, that will be very harsh on the committee," Prasad began. "The day we joined, we were never in the house till now. We ensured that the members reached every nook and corner. They did a fantastic job. The boys whom we have included, if you look at Jayant (Yadav) or we persisted with Karun (Nair), the results are visible.
"Being a wicketkeeper is a thankless job. Now, the selection committee is also a thankless job because we were always behind and who did our job very well. This is a fantastic team, let me tell you. None of us have got any personal baggages.
"The best part about this team is we are very clear in our conscience. We are very clear in our mindset that we are selecting the best possible team that can give us the best possible results. Sometimes, it hurts us because we have to give due credit for what a particular person or one’s profession is. The selector's job is to select the best possible team and the team management's job is to do the best possible thing for the team. It is a very very clear understanding. We take whatever it is, whether it is success or failure. This selection committee takes responsibility for it."
Looking satisfied with the manner in which he tackled the media, Prasad walked away with a pat on the back from Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI general manager (administration and game development).
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