BCCI names Mannava Sri Kanth Prasad as new chairman of selectors

Former India wicket-keeper Mannava Sri Kanth Prasad has been named as the new chairman of selectors. Prasad will take the role of the outgoing chief selector Sandeep Patil who was serving the position since 2013. His tenure ended this month. The board also announced that Ajay Shirke has been re-elected as the board secretary.

The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) had advertised for this role, inviting suitable candidates for the role. The decision was finally taken in their 87th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Wednesday (September 21).

The 41-year-old will represent the South Zone and will keep continuing as the chairman of the India cricket team junior selection committee. The other five-member selection panel consisting of Sarandeep Singh, Abey Kuruvilla, Subroto Banerjee and Rajesh Chauhan, will head the North Zone, the West Zone, the East Zone and the Central Zone respectively.

Prasad had to face a stiff competition to grab this position. Former off-spinner Ashish Kapoor from North Zone, former Bengal captain Devang Gandhi from the East Zone, former India wicket-keeper Sameer Dighe, and veteran of Maharashtra cricket, Shantanu Sugwekar were all in the fray.

Apart from these names, BCCI interviewed more than 90 candidates for positions in the senior, junior and women’s national selection committees over the last two days.

The final decision was taken on the basis of the interviews which the BCCI conducted in Delhi and Mumbai on Sept. 19 and 20 to complete the process.

Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad will be the Chairman of the Junior Selection committee and will have Rajesh Parikh, Ashish Kapoor, Amit Sharma, Gyanendra Pandey as his committee members. The Women’s selection committee will be led by Hemalata Kala as the chairperson.