Virender Sehwag backs Anil Kumble to become Indian cricket’s chairman of selectors

The Indian cricket’s selection committee, headed by MSK Prasad, has faced a lot of criticism over the time being. Their credentials have been questioned on a number of instances, especially because they have a cumulative experience of playing only 13 Tests. A number of selection choices were slammed. Back in September 2016, Prasad, also a former Indian wicketkeeper, was appointed for the position.

In the meantime, Virender Sehwag, the former Indian cricketer, feels that Anil Kumble is the proper candidate for the role. Sehwag said that Kumble knows how to inject confidence into a player, reminiscing an incident when Kumble assured him of his position in the national team.

“I think Anil Kumble could be the right candidate for the chairman of selectors post. He is someone who has interacted with Sachin (Tendulkar), Sourav (Ganguly) and Rahul (Dravid) as a player and with youngsters as a coach,” Sehwag told the reporters during the launch of new app ‘The Selector’.

“When I made a comeback (Australia series 2007-08), captain Kumble came to my room and said you will not be dropped for the next two series. That’s the kind of confidence a player needs,” the retired batsman was quoted as saying.

‘BCCI needs to raise the bar’

Kumble was previously the head coach of the Indian team. Back in June 2016, Kumble was given the role, but he had an altercation with Indian skipper Virat Kohli. After a lot of controversy and chaos, Kumble decided to resign from his position and Ravi Shastri was appointed as the new coach.

As far as Kumble is concerned, Sehwag feels that he won’t agree to take up the position as the chairman of selectors gets only Rs 1 crore per annum. “BCCI needs to raise the bar as far as pay is concerned. Then a lot of players will be interested,” he added.

Talking about his chances of becoming a selector, Sehwag said that he won’t be able to cope up with restrictions since he is a columnist for a number of media houses. “I write columns, appear on TV and being selector will mean a lot of restrictions. I don’t know whether I would like so many restrictions,” the veteran added.

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