Two former Indian cricketers, who made a big name for themselves not just for the national team but also in the Indian Premier League, could be set to become a part of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) senior men’s selection committee, which is chaired by Ajit Agarkar.
For those unversed, the BCCI had called for applications to fill two vacancies in the committee last month to replace Subroto Banerjee and S Sharath. The two men were from the Central and South Zone, respectively, and the replacements will likely be from there too.
As per a report by the Indian Express, pacer RP Singh (Central), who played for Uttar Pradesh in his career and spin bowler Pragyan Ojha (South), who comes from Hyderabad, have emerged as the favourites to be included in the five-member committee.
The published information claims that BCCI have recieved ‘lukewarm responses’ on the vacancies. The report states ex-Indian pacer Praveen Kumar, alongside Uttar Pradesh’s Ashish Winston Zaidi and Himachal Pradesh’s Shakti Singh, have also applied.
Who Are Pragyan Ojha and RP Singh?
RP Singh was part of India’s 2007 T20 World Cup team. He played 14 Tests, 58 ODIs, and 10 T20Is for the national team, in which he took 40, 69, and 15 wickets respectively, with his last outing in 2011. Meanwhile, Ojha played 24 Test matches and took 113 wickets. He also featured in 18 ODIs and six T20Is for the Men in Blue. The left-arm spinner’s final outing for the national team was in Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell Test in 2013 against the West Indies at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
The duo were teammates for India and also in the IPL at Deccan Chargers, when they won the title in 2009 under Adam Gilchrist’s captaincy. Infact, RP was the highest wicket-taker and won the purple cap for taking 23 wickets, while Ojha was the second-highest wicket-taker for the chargers with 18 scalps.
How To Become A BCCI Selector?
A player is eligible to be part of the selection committee five years after their retirement from the sport, or not having been part of any BCCI cricket committee for the same period. Moreover, the player must have a minimum of 7 Test Matches; OR 30 First-Class Matches, OR 10 ODIs and 20 First-Class Matches.