Ex-India Opener Shiv Sundar Das Could Become Interim BCCI Chief Selector: Report

Das, who was the second cricketer from Odisha to play for India, has featured in as many as 23 Tests

12 Dec 2001: Ashley Giles of England throws the ball towards Shiv Sundar Das of India during the second day of the 2nd Test between England and India at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium in Ahmedabad, India.

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After Chetan Sharma resigned as the national selection committee Chairman, a fresh report has suggested than an interim Chief Selector could take over his place before a full-time chairman is appointed. A report carried by news agency PTI claims that ex-India opener Shiv Sundar Das could be named as the interim chairman.

Das, who was the second cricketer from Odisha to play for India, has featured in as many as 23 Tests which is the maximum number among those who are currently part of the selection panel. It should be noted that that the entire selection panel including Sharma had been sacked post India's T20 World Cup debacle last year but Sharma had re-applied and was re-appointed as the chairman.

However, following a sting operation conducted by Zee News where Sharma allegedly revealed confidential information, the 57-year-old resigned from his post on Friday. It is pertinent to note that India's first hat-trick man in ODIs was in Kolkata for the ongoing Ranji Trophy final between Bengal and Saurashtra and he was expected to be part of the panel which would pick the team for the Irani Cup when he decided to step down following the contentious sting.

The sting operation, however, is also being seen as a massive dent in the relationship between the players and the media. In view of the incident, the Indian Cricket Board could order strict guidelines which the players and the officials must adhere to especially while interacting with the press in the times to come.

Notably, the ex-India pacer had said in this sting that a lot of Indian cricketers took injections to get back to competitive cricket quickly despite not being fully fit. He even alleged that star India batter Virat Kohli had started to think of himself as bigger than the board and felt that the then BCCI President Sourav Ganguly was behind him being removed from the ODI captaincy which is why he wanted to take a dig at Ganguly. There was an ego clash between the two legendary India captains, Sharma was heard saying in the TV sting.

(With Inputs from PTI)