BCCI plans to upgrade its working system by proposing a new set of selection rules and also by bringing changes in the salary system of the National selection committee. The agenda is supposed to be put forth in the upcoming annual general meeting to be held in Mumbai on 27 and 28 September, promises a much improvised system. If the agenda is agreed by the board, then it will have to make some hurried changes as the existing panel of selectors retires soon after the meeting on September 30.
The new selection policy will define new rules that will be referred for the selection process. The new rules suggests, for a candidate to be considered for the selectors post, he must be a former India player or a domestic cricketer who had played a minimum of 25 first class matches and retired atleast a decade ago and importantly not associated to any of the BCCI’s job roles or of its affiliated offices at the time of his appointment. Rajiv Shukla, one of the BCCI’s top official, says that the board was no more willing to rope in a player to be a selector soon after his retirement, as the board feels that the chances of having some biased options might be on a high. The appointed senior selectors will be receiving a salary of rupees 25 lakhs per annum.
If these rules come in to place, then from the current bunch of five, only Bhupinder Singh can be considered and for a second term as a BCCI selector. Other selectors who are associated with different managements of the board cannot be considered, which only means that we might see a new crop of selectors who will be deciding the Team India squad for the October test matches against Australia.
Rules for the junior selection panel were also prepared on similar lines. The candidate must be an ex-India player or a cricketer who has played a minimum of 25 first class matches and retired five years ago. Also, the candidate must not be associated to any jobs from BCCI or its affiliated offices at the time of his appointment. The appointed candidate will be offered a salary of rupees 15 lakhs per annum.
A similar rule is also being considered to be implemented for the women selection panel. The candidate to be eligible must have played for the Indian team or have played a minimum of 25 first class matches and retired five years ago. Again, the candidate should not be an employee of BCCI or its affiliated offices at the time of her appointment. The appointed candidate will receive a salary of rupees 5 lakhs per annum. Also, BCCI has planned a scheme for presenting a monthly gratis of 15,000 rupees per month, for women cricketers who had played atleast 10 or more test matches and 10,000 rupees per month for players with five to nine test matches. Also, an increase in the monthly gratis for widows of Test cricket umpires are also to be considered in the meeting.
As a mark of good will to other sports, BCCI plans to make a contribution of rupees 50 crores to the National Sports Development Fund, to help promote and develop other sporting bodies in the country. Apart from this, the Board plans to present cash awards to Olympic medalists. Gold winning shooter Abhinav Bindra will be awarded a cash prize of rupees 25 lakhs, whereas bronze medalists, wrestler Sushil Kumar and boxer Vijender Kumar will be presented rupees 10 lakhs each.
In an attempt to develop women’s cricket in neighboring China, BCCI plans to send a coach and also to present cricketing equipments worth 50,000 dollars. Next month, the Indian High Commissioner to China, on behalf of BCCI, will present the proposed package to the Cricket Committee of China.
Hence much to do for BCCI in its annual general meeting and then the selection of the new five national selectors based on its outcome.
