Former national selector Raja Venkat, who represented East Zone in Krishnamachari Srikkanth's selection committee from 2008 to 2012, has slammed the Indian cricket board for attacking ex-chief selector Sandeep Patil
Raja Venkat
Raja Venkat
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Kolkata: Former national selector Raja Venkat, who represented East Zone in Krishnamachari Srikkanth's selection committee from 2008 to 2012, has slammed the Indian cricket board for attacking ex-chief selector Sandeep Patil. BCCI president Anurag Thakur told PTI yesterday that it was unethical for Patil to reveal selectorial matters.
In a television show last week, Patil said he and fellow selector RS Hans had a meeting with Sachin Tendulkar about his future during the Nagpur Test against England in 2012. Patil reckoned that this meeting may have led to the cricket icon calling time on his limited overs career.
"One should refrain from making such unethical and unwanted comments in this area (selection matters). It is because he has been trusted to become the chairman, because he has played enough cricket. There were four more selectors with him, they did not say anything. He (Patil) should have avoided that," the BCCI president said.
However, Raja Venkat remarked: "Firstly, I want to know if whatever has appeared in the media about Patil is true. If it is true, why should the BCCI have a problem with what he says? The same Board does not allow anyone to speak on issues. I get the feeling that the Board put the gun on Patil's shoulders to get their way.
Last year, Raja Venkat revealed how then BCCI president N Srinivasan stopped the selection committee (which Raja Venkat was part of) when it wanted to replace MS Dhoni as captain with Virat Kohli after the senior man was failing to deliver results in Test cricket.
Raja Venkat also went on record then to say that there was a rift in the team on the 2011-2012 tour of Australia. "Mohinder Amarnath and Narendra Hirwani (selectors) had accompanied the team Down Under and upon their return they reported that there were several factions within the team. Team spirit had hit rock bottom," Raja Venkat said then.
Patil also revealed on television that his selection committee discussed the possibility of handing Virat Kohli the Test captaincy before Dhoni quit the longer form of the game on the 2014-15 tour to Australia.
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