Two members of the Board of Control for Cricket in India's selection panel, Gagan Khoda and Jatin Paranjpe (pictured above), are likely to be sacked just over a week after their appointment, reported PTI. The current five-member selection panel will be trimmed to three, as requested by the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Lodha committee, at the BCCI's Special General Meeting, scheduled for Friday, the report said. The BCCI had been criticised by the Lodha panel for not following its recommendation to keep the strength of the selection panel to three members.
The report also said that the entire selection committee could be replaced in the forthcoming days, but it is Khoda and Paranjpe whose heads will be on the chopping block first. The duo have not played any Test cricket in their career – a pre-requisite demanded by the Lodha panel. The three other selectors – MSK Prasad, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh – have donned the white flannels for India, but only account for 13 Tests between them.
“It’s unlikely that Gagan and Jatin can be kept in selection panel," a BCCI official told the news agency. "In any case, I don’t think BCCI is now in a position to get into further confrontation with apex court and it’s appointed panel. If we remove Gagan and Jatin, it will in any case conform with panel’s guidelines of having three ex Test players as senior selectors," the official added.
The report also stated that the BCCI has decided to put administrative decisions to bed before the cricket gets underway in full swing in the current home season, which sees India take on England and Australia after the ongoing tour against New Zealand. “We have a long home season and you don’t want a situation where you don’t have selectors going into ODIs followed by Test series against England and Australia,” the BCCI official said.
