Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar applauded Mohinder Amarnath  and termed it  was ‘incredibly courageous’  for him to take on the Indian cricket board by revealing that the BCCI  chief overruled the national selectors when they wanted to remove Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the team’s skipper.
Amarnath raised a storm by saying that N. Srinivasan, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), overruled the selection committee’s decision to sack Dhoni after the team had lost all the four Tests in Australia last season. Amarnath was part of the selection panel, headed by Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
Amarnath had told a television channels that someone in the BCCI did not want to act against Dhoni after the disastrous tours to England and Australia.
“Yes, definitely the selection committee didn’t want Dhoni after the humiliating series in Australia… We wanted to replace him, but I think somebody from the BCCI didn’t want that,” Amarnath had said.
Gavaskar, reacting to Amarnath’s sensational disclosure, told NDTV that if someone has the courage of conviction, he has to be admired.
“He is prepared to face the consequences. It is a testimony of his self-belief. It needs to be admired. What Jimmy has spoken is incredibly courageous and, may be, lessons need to be learnt from that,” Gavaskar said.
Gavaskar said getting the team’s approval from the BCCI president was an age-old protocol.
“It’s a protocol, actually. Any team selected does go to the board for approval, not just the captain, even the 14 or 16 selected for a Test or for an overseas tour. That’s the protocol not just in India, but I understand that is the protocol even in Australia and England. The final approval is up to the board, so I don’t think it is out of the ordinary.
“Even in different committees they come to some sort of a decision. It goes to the Working Committee. From the Working Committee it goes to the full board,” Gavaskar said.
The batting great, however, said that any unanimous decision by the selection committee should be accepted by the board.
“Ideally, of course, if you have a committee to take a call, that committee takes a decision, particularly if it is a unanimous decision then that should be taken on board.”
Asked why have the selection panel when the veto power lies with the president, Gavaskar said: “You need a selection panel as it has people who have played the game. They have the required experience. And if you have that in place, then you have to rely on it.”
Asked whether there was not a conflict of interest when the board president owns an Indian Premier League team and the captain of that team happens to be Dhoni, Gavaskar said: “It is a tough call for anyone in that situation but to think that the president will go against the well being of Indian cricket, is a going a little too far.”
BCCI senior official Rajeev Shukla, however, said the selectors had a free hand in deciding the team.
“I will not go into what he (Amarnath) has said. I don’t think this has ever happened. I don’t think it is appropriate to give statements like this,” Shukla told reporters here.
“Whatever one has to say, one can say while participating in the selection meeting. Making comments about selection issues is not appropriate as it creates some kind of perception in the minds of players and fans.
“Selectors are independent. They are not under any pressure,” he added.