Sunil Joshi was best candidate for chairman of selectors, asserts Madan Lal

The CAC, comprising Lal, Rudra Pratap Singh, and Sulakshna Naik, picked former India left-arm spinner Joshi — as the chief selector of Indian senior men's team — with former pacer Harvinder completing the five-member selection panel. While there were talks that Tamil Nadu's leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan was the first choice, it was Joshi who edged the fellow South Indian to the post. Lal recently revealed that the decision to go with Joshi and Harvinder to replace outgoing members MSK Prasad — who was chief selector — and Gagan Khoda was unanimous.

"It was a difficult decision. There were 40 candidates and we had to pick only two. Since MSK Prasad, the outgoing selector, was from the south region, we picked Sunil Joshi and Harvinder from the central region. It was a unanimous decision by the committee. Out of all the candidates, he (Sunil Joshi) was the best for the role of the chief selector," Lal said, reported TOI.

The 68-year-old added that he wasn’t too bothered with Joshi’s mild-mannerism clashing against skipper Virat Kohli’s dominant personality. 

"I was also the chairman (of the selection committee) when Sachin was the captain, then Azhar was the captain. I didn't have to be subdued in front of them. It's alright. We've picked him; let's see how he takes up the task,” Lal added.