BCCI reminds team management of 'system' after confusion over player replacement

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said that the team management led by captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri has not followed due process for addressing challenges faced in their England tour.

An unnamed BCCI official has told to news agency ANI that the team management should have addressed their letter to Secretary Jay Shah or the acting CEO instead of the selection committee albeit they needed help in terms of selection.

"It is time for the team management to focus on the tour after the break. There has been a lot of chatter around this whole replacement business and the email from the team management to the chairman of selectors, which has apparently caused confusion in the minds of a lot of people except possibly the team management and the selectors. I think this is on account of the fact that the team manager addressed the email to the chairman of selectors rather than to the BCCI's acting CEO or the secretary," ANI quoted an unnamed BCCI official as saying.

"It is very simple, when you are on tour, if there is any requirement or difficulty, you are to speak or write to the secretary or the CEO or their office since they are your point of contact. You have to keep in mind that this is the Indian team's tour and not a private tour and a system has to be followed.”

The official explained that the selection committee by itself does not have the power to initiate a decision-making process to send players abroad and that the responsibility of arranging facilities fall under the ambit of the board.

"If funds are required, you do not just speak to the accountant and request a funds transfer because till the approvals are in place the chat would not mean anything, there is a system of checks and balances. Similarly, the selection committee is not empowered to unilaterally take a decision on the basis of an email. However, the selection committee can -- if they feel the necessity -- request the board if they wish to make changes and the board does usually accord approval for this,” the official emphasized.

Reports have emerged that the team management and the Chetan Sharma-led selection committee are at loggerheads over the issue of a backup opener for an injured Shubman Gill. The team management has written an email to the Sharma-led committee but the selection committee is yet to respond with their objection or acceptance for a backup opener.

The official said that the team management will have to accept that the issue of selecting players do not fall under their power alone and hence the committee’s views on the selection or non-selection of players will have to be respected.

The official said that the episodes of differences coming to the public and creating a storm will set wrong precedents for Indian cricket and the team management should be wary of creating such situations.

"Over the last year the selection committee has been giving the team management the replacements they have asked for and that is because of the fact that the choice of the selection committee has been coinciding with the choice of the team management. They would however do well to accept the fact that it is not the job of the team management to select the squad or to insist on specific players as that can prove to be deeply conflicted decision making. That job is of the selection committee alone and even the office bearers cannot play a role in the selection," the official said.

"It is no surprise that the one time that there is a divergence in views, stories with motives being attributed to selectors start appearing and this must be avoided as this is unhealthy for Indian cricket and for the team management.”

Indian team is on a break after the conclusion of the World Test Championship final against New Zealand and will rejoin as a group for a tour game against a selected county side in the last week of July.

The first Test of the series against England will be held in Nottingham in the first week of the next month.