In BCCI, being well-connected matters more than being knowledgeable, alleges video analyst candidate

In BCCI, being well-connected matters more than being knowledgeable, alleges video analyst candidate

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One of the 22 candidates for the video analyst’s position in the women’s national team has alleged that it is more important to be well-connected than actually knowing things in the BCCI. Another candidate further revealed the type of mindless questions that was asked of the candidates on Friday.

The Indian women’s national team are set to tour the Caribbean to play three ODIs and five T20Is, starting from November 1. Among the travelling group is Pushkar Sawant, the video analyst who has nominated by Karim himself. However, an email written by Edulji to the BCCI CEO has revealed that candidates for the same position were interviewed on Friday, without keeping the selectors in the loop. As per the BCCI constitution, all the appointments, including those of the support staff, have to be made by the national selectors. 

Two candidates who had appeared for the interview at the BCCI headquarters gave further insight into the controversy. It has been learnt that Devraj Raut, who is the current video analyst of India A and U19 teams, interviewed all the 22 candidates. 

“Raut, who was the technical person in the board of interviewers on 18th October, is close to Ratnakar Shetty. This is the reason why he was conducting the interviews. In BCCI, it does not matter what you know. What matters is who you know,” one of the candidates told CricTracker, while requesting anonymity.

The candidate further revealed the type of mindless questions that was asked of the 22 candidates that appeared for the position. 

“When I appeared for an interview for the same position at the NCA in 2007, I was asked questions on what my strategy would be to stop the flow of runs if the opposition scored back to back centuries. Or what my role would be at the training sessions. These are the kind of questions you need to ask. But what happened at the BCCI was different,” he revealed.

“The kind of questions Raut asked made no sense. He was asking questions on Windows operating system to those who were carrying Windows laptops and questions on MAC operating system to those who were carrying a MacBook. What happens when you switch on a laptop? What is the spelling of Kernel? These are the kind of questions that were asked,” he said.

“I had put in a lot of effort for the interview. Prepared on the women’s team’s past, present and future. It is difficult to collect stats on women’s cricket, it was a lot of hard work. But I wasn’t even given the opportunity to show my slideshow,” he added.

Another candidate, who too requested anonymity, noted that a performance analyst, and not a video analyst, is the actual requirement in the team. 

“What is bizarre is that all those candidates Raut interviewed are much more qualified than him. And nobody knows who appointed him. BCCI did not conduct any interviews for that post, so how was Raut’s appointment made?” he said.

“The performance analyst makes strategies for the games, helps the coach in net sessions, reviews the players’ technique, helps in conducting team meetings, and is involved in a host of other things. Video analyst only tags match videos and distributes them to the coaches and players. The board doesn’t even know what the team requires,” the candidate added.

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