Joshi and Harvinder had ‘best answers’ for our questions, reveals Madan Lal

03/05/2020

Madan Lal, a member of the CAC who announced India’s new selection committee, revealed that selectors’ communication with captain was key and Joshi and Harvinder had the best answers for the same. Lal further revealed that selectors in the past maintained a great relationship with the captain.

The three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Madan Lal, RP Singh and Sulakshana Naik, on Wednesday, announced that former Indian cricketers Sunil Joshi and Harvinder Singh will be constituting the country’s new selection committee, with the former named as the chairman of selectors.

The move came as a surprise as it was earlier revealed that the trio of Venkatesh Prasad, Ajit Agarkar and L Sivaramakrishnan were front-runners for the position, with it being revealed that preference was said to be given to the most capped Test player amongst the three.

Hence, it came as a surprise when the duo of Joshi and Harvinder were announced as a part of the new selection committee, but Madan Lal has revealed that a major reason for picking the two was due to their clarity in their answers, especially with regards to how they will be dealing with the Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

“We have this factor the most in our mind. Our captain is a high performing player. We have kept it in mind that we find somebody who can communicate with him, because in the end it is the captain, who has to run the team,” Lal was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Lal further revealed that the selectors of the past maintained an extremely healthy and fruitful relationship with the captain and stated that a healthy association between the captain and the selectors was integral to the team.

“Captain matters a lot to the team and so it is important on how you communicate with him. What is gone is in the past, the two selectors that we picked had the best answers on this topic.”

Joshi, who represented India in 84 international games between 1996 and 2001, meanwhile, expressed his gratitude in being appointed as the chairman of selectors and thanked the CAC for considering him for the role.

“I deem it an honour and privilege to serve our beloved country again and would like to thank the CAC for considering me.”