Parthiv Patel declined the opportunity to become the next chairman of selectors for the Indian cricket team, citing significant financial implications compared to his current roles in the IPL and TV commentary.
IMAGE: Parthiv Patel was widely tipped to take over from Ajit Agarkar as the West Zone representative on the national selection panel, but the 41-year-old former wicketkeeper-batter chose not to apply for the top job. Photograph: BCCI
Key Points
- Parthiv Patel declined the offer to replace Ajit Agarkar as India’s chief selector due to financial considerations, as the role’s remuneration would mean sacrificing lucrative IPL and TV commentary assignments.
- The annual remuneration for the selection committee chief is reportedly ₹3 crore, which is less than what Patel earns from his current roles.
- Former spinner Pragyan Ojha, who has been serving as interim chairman, is now expected to be appointed to the job.
- Ramesh Powar is set to join the national selection panel as the West Zone representative, preferred over Wasim Jaffer.
- V V S Laxman will play a crucial role in selection meetings to enhance coordination between selectors and the BCCI Centre of Excellence on player fitness and injury management.
Parthiv Patel turned down the chance to replace Ajit Agarkar as India’s next chairman of selectors over ‘financial issues’.
Parthiv was widely tipped to take over from Agarkar as the West Zone representative on the national selection panel, but the 41-year-old former wicketkeeper-batter chose not to apply for the top job when the deadline ended last week.
Patel’s Remuneration Concerns
Parthiv currently serves as the assistant coach and batting coach of the Gujarat Titans in the IPL, while he also does TV commentary.
‘It is understood that Parthiv backtracked after considering certain financial issues. The remuneration for the selection committee chief is reportedly ₹3 crore annually and Parthiv is believed to lose out substantially if he has to sacrifice his TV commentary assignments and commitments with Gujarat Titans in the IPL,’ a report in The Telegraph said.
New Appointments and BCCI’s Rationale
Former spinner Pragyan Ojha, who took over as the interim chairman of selectors following the conclusion of Agarkar’s tenure on October 4, is now likely to take over the post.
Ramesh Powar is set to edge out former Mumbai team-mate Wasim Jaffer as the West Zone representative to replace Agarkar on the national selection panel.
‘The BCCI decided to go ahead with Powar as West Zone representative, and not Jaffer, who played 31 Tests, since it wanted the selectors to be in sync with the team management’s current policy ahead of the ODI World Cup,’ sources told The Telegraph.
‘Ojha has been around for more than a year and is conversant with the team management’s wishes,’ the sources added.
‘The BCCI didn’t favour putting Jaffer, a domestic stalwart, in the chairman’s role since it was a risk not worth taking at this time. Powar, earlier interviewed for the junior selection panel, was initially considered for the chairman’s role but eventually co-opted in the senior panel.’
V V S Laxman’s Role
Batting great V V S Laxman, the current head of the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, will play a key role in selection committee meetings to ensure better co-ordination between the selectors and CoE with regards to players’ fitness and injury management.
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