Amarnath’s fate hanging in balance

Fierce back room lobbying was going on Wednesday even as there was intense speculation over the next set of selectors. With hours left for the annual general meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), officials from state associations were frantically lobbying for their candidates. The fate of Mohinder Amarnath was hanging in balance.

Till late Wednesday night, the new line-up was not clear as the officials were huddled in lengthy meetings. At one stage, there were five meetings at different places. There were efforts to represent one candidate from each zone but a consensus couldn’t be reached. All eyes are on president N Srinivasan, who will have to provide the stamp of approval.

There are, however, some indications of the new committee. Amarnath, once tipped to be the chairman, will have to hope for a miracle to retain his position. Most north zone members are opposed to his continuation and Vikram Rathore, a former India opener, is emerging as the zone’s consensus candidate. Former opener Chetan Chauhan is also tipped as a serious contender.

The BCCI president will, obviously, take a final call on the next chairman of selectors. For now, Amarnath is on a sticky wicket.
If Amarnath were to go, Roger Binny, his teammate of the 1983 World Cup winning side, would take over the reins. There seems to be unanimity among the members of the south zone.

Devang Gandhi has emerged as the frontrunner from east. The former India player from Kolkata has pipped Debasis Mohanty, whose candidature seems to have been vetoed on a technical ground. Gandhi has played four Tests and he should replace Raja Venkat.

Karsan Ghavri, former India pacer from Mumbai, has found patronage in Saurashtra, which is fighting hard to make him the west zone selector. But the Mumbai Cricket Association is determined to push the name of Abey Kuruvilla. Given Mumbai’s clout in the BCCI, Kuruvilla, who just completed his term as the chairman of Mumbai’s junior selection committee, could get the nod.

Word is that Sunil Chaturvedi is the favoured candidate from the central zone. He has competition from Gyanendra Pandey, a former captain of Uttar Pradesh, who has also represented India in two ODIs.

Meanwhile, sources have indicated that Ratnakar Shetty, the chief administrative officer of the board for the last six years, is likely to get an extension.