The chairman of selectors for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Chetan Sharma, is at the center of a controversy after a sting operation revealed that he had allegedly disclosed confidential information regarding selection procedures. The scandalous incident occurred on February 14, as per reports.
During the sting operation conducted by Zee News, Sharma is said to have cast doubts on the abilities of former India captain Virat Kohli and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. The chairman also allegedly divulged his private conversations with national head coach Rahul Dravid and Kohli. The national selectors are now being investigated by the BCCI since their contracts prohibit them from speaking to the media.
Following the scandal, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah is reportedly set to make a decision regarding Chetan Sharma’s future. A senior BCCI official was quoted as saying, “The question is whether T20 skipper Hardik Pandya or ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma would like to sit with Chetan in a selection meeting knowing that he has let out internal discussions.”
In the sting operation, Sharma claimed that several players use injections to speed up their return to competitive cricket despite being only 80% to 85% fit to play. The former India fast bowler also revealed that he and the team management disagreed on whether Bumrah should play in the T20I series against Australia in September 2022, prior to the T20 World Cup, after recovering from a stress fracture.
Sharma’s alleged comments about Kohli and former BCCI President Sourav Ganguly’s supposed ego clash also surfaced in the sting operation. “Virat Kohli felt he lost the captaincy because of BCCI President. There were 9 people in the selection committee video conference, Ganguly may have told him ‘think about it once’. I think Kohli didn’t hear it, there were 9 others there including myself and all other selectors, BCCI officials – Kohli might not have heard him,” said Sharma in the video.
The controversy has raised questions about the conduct of selectors and the need to maintain confidentiality in selection procedures.
