Zonal mode to stay a while

If there was any signal emerging from the Mumbai review commitee meeting that the coach would finally have more say in selection, that eupho...

If there was any signal emerging from the Mumbai review commitee meeting that the coach would finally have more say in selection, that euphoria isn8217;t going to last long it seems. The Board of Control for Cricket in India BCCI today indicated that it wasn8217;t ready yet to 8220;introduce a whole set of changes8221; in the selection process 8211; at least not till the back-to-back home series against Sri Lanka and South Africa have been gone through.

However, going the pulse in the BCCI8217;s administrative circuit, one thing is certain 8211; even if it doesn8217;t happen in the next couple of months, 8220;sweeping changes in the selection procedure8221; will surely be in sooner rather than later.

On October 1, Board secretary SK Nair is slated for a session with the five-man selection headed by Kiran More. It was learnt that a day before that meeting, the Board would brief the selectors informally as to how they will go about their job in the backdrop of the recommendations of the review committee.

Effectively, the 8220;sweeping changes8221; can then come about only when the next working committee meeting or the AGM comes up.

Of course, the BCCI mandarins have their own reasons for wanting to stick to the current zonal system, instead of adopting the three-man panel of paid professionals proposal put forth by the Karnataka State Cricket Association KSCA.

National Cricket Academy NCA director and KSCA chief Brijesh Patel is not amused. 8220;It makes no sense to continue with the zonal system. Isn8217;t it all too obvious that the zones themselves will stand by the existing system so that their representation in the selection process doesn8217;t suffer?8221; he questioned, speaking to The Indian Express. Patel feels that the new format, which he is looking forward to having implemented some time in the future, will eventually enhance the quality of team selection.

One top BCCI functionary explained that following the just-concluded spate of controversies, the Board, 8220;tired after all the hard work8221;, is now looking for a breather for the time being. And that meant the BCCI will not 8220;go for experimentation8221; by switching to an 8220;untested8221; system.

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A senior Indian cricketer told The Indian Express: 8220;The current 16 players in the Indian team are the best available. So there is no need to change things for the time being.8221; Hint enough that there is an overhaul on the horizon.