Madan Lal-led CAC under BCCI scanner after WV Raman's ouster

The Madan Lal-led Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) and the Neetu David-led selection committee have come under the BCCI scanner after WV Raman was not continued as the Head Coach of Team India.



“Maddi paaji (that's how Madan Lal is addressed in Indian cricket fraternity) celebrated his 70th birthday on March 20, 2021,” a senior member of the BCCI was quoted as saying by PTI.



“The BCCI, in its appeal to Supreme Court against some of the reforms, doesn’t ask for roll-back of age-cap of 70 years. So how come Madan Lal was allowed to sit in CAC meeting?”



The role of Sulakshana Naik, part of the CAC, was also questioned based on the manner in which the interview was conducted. Naik is the sister of Sanjay, who is the President of Mumbai Cricket Association.



“One surprising question that Raman was asked was how can he claim credit for women's team reaching T20 final as this is a team that was prepared by Ramesh Powar,” said the source, suggesting Naik wanted Raman’s removal before the process was completed.



“Even if we presume that Ramesh and Mithali Raj had problems back then and it wasn't good enough ground to remove Ramesh, does two wrongs make a right. If you go by the argument Sulakshana gave during Raman's 45-minute presentation, by that logic, Ramesh is inheriting a team that Raman prepared.”



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PTI also reported that Raman wasn’t pleased the calls the selection committee took ahead of the series against South Africa in March. While Shikha Pandey and Ekta Bisht were dropped, Shafali Verma was included only in the T20I squad with left-arm seamer Monica Patel and leg-spinning allrounder Prathyusha Challaru getting their maiden call-ups.



“Do you know what kind of logic was given for dropping Shikha and Shafali? It is beyond comprehension,” said a senior official, who had access to the recordings of the selection meet. “They said Pandey was unfit but when they were asked to prove their point, they couldn't simply do it.”



Verma’s fielding was given as the prime reason behind her exclusion from the ODI squad, to which Raman had objected.



“If Raman had a counter-question that if Shafali''s fielding is a problem for 50-over cricket, then it is bigger problem in T20 format where it is more important. Then how is she being selected in T20 format?” asked the official.



Those who supported Raman’s ouster from the points had their reasons, too.



“Some girls complained that he will at times switch himself off during training sessions,” a member who supported the move told PTI.



“Also some girls felt under-appreciated. Someone like Rajeshwari Gayakwad was not even once praised despite she being the best bowler during the series.”