Former India wicket-keeper batsman Farokh Engineer launched a no-holds-barred attack on the current Indian selection committee led by another former India ‘keeper batsman MSK Prasad. Engineer went to the extent of terming Prasad and Co. as ‘mickey mouse selection committee’.
“We have got a Mickey Mouse selection committee,” Engineer told Times of India. Engineer was in Pune to visit former India cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar’s cricket academy. Engineer, who represented India in 46 Tests and 5 ODIs between 1961 and 1976, questioned the qualification of the selectors, who he believed lacked enough international experience.
“How are the selectors qualified? Between them, have they played about 10-12 Test matches. I didn’t even know one of the selectors during the World Cup and I asked him ‘who the hell he was’, because he was wearing the India blazer and he said he was one of the selectors,” said Engineer in the interview to Times of India.
The former India keeper then went to state that he saw the selectors getting cups of tea for India captain Virat Kohli’s wife Anushka Sharma during the World Cup. “All they were doing was getting Anushka Sharma (Kohli’s wife) cups of tea,” Engineer was quoted as saying in the interview.
The current Indian selection committee is headed by MSK Prasad (6 Tests, 17 ODIs) while former India cricketers Devang Gandhi (4 Tests, 3 ODIs), Sarandeep Singh (3 Tests, 5 ODIs), Jatin Paranjpe (4 ODIs) and Gagan Khoda (2 ODIs) are the other four members.
Engineer said someone of Vengsarkar’s stature should have part of the selection committee. “I feel people with the stature of Dilip Vengsarkar should be in the selection committee,” Engineer added.
Engineer also took a dig at CoA, whose reign came to end with Sourav Ganguly’s appointment as the 39th BCCI president. “COA, in my opinion, were a complete waste of time. I read the other day that each one of them (the COA) has pocketed Rs 3.5 crore. It’s criminal. Plus I believe they got paid thousands and thousands for attending meetings and all, I feel they were on a honeymoon. The honeymoon is over.”
Engineer felt Ganguly as BCCI president will change things for good. “He was a dashing player, a captain who took bold decisions and I hope he does the same thing as board president.”