KSCA's MC 'forced' to pick selectors?

General

The Managing Committee of the Karnataka State Cricket Association picked various selection committees - from the Senior to the U-14 panels -- on Friday. On the face of it, the exercise appears to be a violation of their own constitution because, according to the KSCA bye-laws, this job should have been carried out by a Cricket Committee.

According to Rule 26 of the KSCA constitution, forming the men’s selection committees and appointing head coaches is the domain of the Cricket Committee (Cricket Advisory Committee in case of the BCCI) consisting of five former cricketers who should have represented the state.

However, KSCA claim they were left with no choice but to allow the MC to complete the task. An association source said not many cricketers - both international and national – have come forward to be a part of the Cricket Committee, whose services are honorary. “Even if some cricketers want to lend their services without expecting any monetary benefits, the stringent Conflict of Interest (CoI) clauses discourage them from taking up this task,” the source said.

KSCA treasurer Vinay Mruthyunjaya agreed that monetising honorary jobs such as selection panels was an idea the association would have to think about seriously, but not that of the Cricket Committee.

“Given the current situation owing to Covid-19, wherein our revenue generation has been affected badly, we can’t pay for these positions,” he said. “But going forward, at some stage, we have to consider it seriously. That said, this isn’t easy. You also have to look at the number of panels we have; Senior, U-23, U-19, U-16, U-14, women’s committee... It’s a lot of money.”

Also, a lot of procedures that the Board of Control for Cricket in India follows don’t seem to apply to state bodies. For example, there is a cap of a four-year term for national selectors but state selectors can continue in their positions for as long as the association/managing committee wish them to. Senior selection panel chairman Fazal Khaleel, who also heads the U-23 committee, has been a member for more than four years now.

Vinay maintained that the state body’s constitution doesn’t place any restriction on the number of years for a selector. It’s silent on this aspect.

Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president, clarified in February that the chairman of the national selection panel would be the one who had played the most Tests for the country and not the one who played earliest, offering his own interpretation of the seemingly unambiguous ‘seniormost’ criterion laid out in the board’s constitution.

By the same logic, Anand Katti, who has played 46 first-class matches for Karnataka, should have been the chairman of the senior state committee but instead that honour, however, has been bestowed on Khaleel, who appeared in 27 first-class matches for Karnataka between 1995 and 1999.

Mruthyunjaya, however, pointed out to Rule No. 26 (B) of the KSCA, which states any one of the four members can be appointed the chairman of a panel.

He further clarified that since a state selector’s position was honorary, the association wasn’t obliged to advertise the post, inviting applications.

“National selectors are paid for their job, so they (the BCCI) have to screen the candidates but here, our president (Roger Binny) and vice-president (J Abhiram), in consultation with others, take the call,” he offered.