After Mithali Raj's Letter to BCCI, Report Claims Cricket Board Official Opposed MS Dhoni’s Appointment as Captain for Asia Cup Match
Dhoni, who led the side after almost two years, became the third cricketer to lead his side in 200 ODIs during the match against Afghanistan. India eventually won that match.
The Indian cricket is currently engulfed in a controversy regarding the interference by officials in the selection matters. Mithali Raj recently wrote a letter to the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) after she was dropped for the semifinal of ICC Women's World T20 2018 against England. The senior cricketer lashed out at head coach Ramesh Powar and Committee of Administrators (CoA) member Diana Edulji for being bias. Now another report is doing rounds which claims that during the Asia Cup 2018 in the UAE, a senior BCCI official interfered in the selection process during India’s game against Afghanistan.
As per a report in Times of India, unnamed BCCI official opposed team management’s move to hand the captaincy to MS Dhoni. The wicketkeeper-batsman was named the captain of the side after stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Shikhar Dhawan were rested for an inconsequential match. How Mithali Raj’s Letter Accusing Ramesh Powar, COA of ‘Discriminatory’ Treatment Got Leaked to Media: Questions BCCI Secretary
"In the match against Afghanistan, Rohit Sharma rested himself and the Indian team management decided to hand over the captaincy to MS Dhoni because of his seniority and also as a special gesture. A senior BCCI administrator, however, kept insisting that appointing MS would've been a regressive step and said the next senior most cricketer should lead the side. So, all this talk about outsiders not interfering is absolute nonsense. The administrator refused to give MS the captaincy which was very weird given his experience," a source was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
Dhoni, who led the side after almost two years, became the third cricketer to lead his side in 200 ODIs during the match against Afghanistan. India eventually won that match. Mithali Raj's Email to BCCI: Senior Cricketer Accuses Coach Ramesh Powar of Discrimination During the Women’s T20 World Cup.
The report further adds that the BCCI administrator had also intervened while allowing contracts to the cricketers. The report claims, a Grade 'C' cricketer was handed a Grade 'B' contract as he is backed by the administrator. The player, as per the report, continues to be part of the Indian team.
"It was a kind of diktat. He (the unnamed cricketer) was picked for the series in England and failed but continues to be around. You should ask this administrator if there was any effort to exert influence, even if that meant dictating the team who their captain should be," the report quoted the source as saying.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 28, 2018 03:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).