The stir has once again intensified in Indian cricket. Just before the second ODI against South Africa, BCCI has called a meeting with head coach Gautam Gambhir, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and some top officials of the board. This meeting being organized a few hours before the match is giving many big signals.
Why the sudden meeting?
According to the report of Sportstar, BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia, Joint Secretary Prabhtej Singh Bhatia, Coach Gautam Gambhir and Selection Committee Chairman Ajit Agarkar will be present in this meeting. It is not clear whether new BCCI President Mithun Manhas will attend it or not. However, it is very unlikely that Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma or any senior player will be called in this meeting.
According to the BCCI official, the purpose of this meeting is, “to bring continuity in team selection and clarity on future plans.”
Test series defeat increases concern
The recent defeat in the home Test series against South Africa has forced the board to think about many questions. The main focus of this meeting will be,
– Wrong strategy of the team in recent matches
-Communication gap between management and players
-Strengthening long-term team plans
A senior official says, “Many times in the home Test season, strange decisions have been seen on and off the field. There are still eight months for the next Test series, so we want to make all our preparations first.”
Big decisions regarding T20 and ODI World Cup
India will enter the T20 World Cup next year to defend the title. Whereas after that the ODI World Cup is also ahead. In such a situation, the board does not want to take any kind of risk. According to a top official, “India is going to be a top contender in the next two big ICC tournaments, so it is important to resolve all the strategic issues immediately.”
Kohli-Rohit’s role also discussed?
For some time now there has been a strong discussion that the board wanted to convince Virat Kohli to return to Test cricket. However, after Ranchi ODI, Kohli himself has clearly ruled out the possibility of any kind of comeback. It is also believed that there are some differences between the management, selection committee and senior players, which efforts are being made to resolve.
The results of this meeting can affect the direction and selection policy of Team India in a big way in the coming days. This “sudden meeting” taken just before the second ODI has further increased the curiosity among the fans.
