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A former BCCI official wants the board to be ‘seen running’ the sport in the country by getting stricter with all involved.
Senior stars like Rohit Sharma (R) and Virat Kohli (L) have been a big dissapointment in the tour to Australia. (Image: AFP)
A former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official has called on incoming secretary Devajit Saikia, who has recently replaced Jay Shah, to send a ‘strict message’ to chief selector Ajit Agarkar after India’s 3-1 defeat and the failure to retain the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The official was quoted by Dainik Jagran. He said the BCCI should be ‘seen running’ the country’s cricket and change the ‘very bad’ message being conveyed to all stakeholders about the state of the sport. He also wants the BCCI to exercise the whip in ensuring no player considers himself ‘bigger than the game’.
“The message is going very bad. People can be sweet pawns on the internet but BCCI has to run cricket in the country and it should also be seen running it. Now there is a need to give such a strong message that no player should consider himself bigger than the game. Now there is a need to choose a new team. The selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar is of BCCI and the new secretary should call him, and also give a strict message,” he said.
The ‘bigger than the game’ concept has been around the sport for a while and is generally directed at senior cricketers. In the case of this BGT, skipper Rohit Sharma — 31 runs in three matches — and Virat Kohli — 190 runs in five matches — have come under extreme criticism for struggling to contribute enough runs in the series.
Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan had also called out what he felt was the ‘superstar’ culture in the team, specifically targeting Kohli.
“When it comes to the Indian team, in 2024 the first innings average for Virat Kohli is 15 and if we take it for the last five years, it won’t even be crossing the 30s. Does India deserve this from their senior players? Better than that is to give consistent chances for the younger players, they will give an average of 25-30 because we are talking about the team here not individuals,” Pathan said on Star Sports.
India will play white-ball cricket and the IPL for the next six months before going to England for a five-Test series. Both Rohit and Kohli’s participation for that tour is, for now, uncertain at best.
