Chetan Sharma, the chief selector for the BCCI, was the subject of controversy on Tuesday after it was claimed that he revealed secret selection procedures in the middle of a TV channel sting.
A number of stunning revelations have emerged, including the ongoing doping controversy in Indian cricket and what happened between Sourav Ganguly and former Indian captain Virat Kohli.
While he spoke about a variety of other topics, Chetan finally broke his silence on the purported rift between current all-format skipper Rohit Sharma and Kohli.
Chetan Sharma was caught during the sting operation passing judgment on players like Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. Chetan Sharma was recently reinstated by the BCCI after being suspended following India’s performance in the T20 World Cup in Australia. During the Zee News sting, Sharma allegedly disclosed his private conversations with Virat Kohli and head coach Rahul Dravid.
In the meantime, Rohit and Virat are both legends in Indian cricket, having set records in a variety of formats for the Men in Blue. While Rohit is frequently referred to as the cleanest hitter of the cricket ball, Virat is widely recognized as the greatest batter of this generation.
Sharma claimed that despite being between 80% and 85% fit, several players use injections to accelerate their return to competitive cricket. The former India pace bowler also claimed that he and the team management disagreed on whether Bumrah should play in the T20I series against Australia in September after recovering from a stress fracture.
Kohli didn’t hear it
Chetan Sharma claimed in the Zee News sting operation that Ganguly had advised Kohli to “think once” before resigning as T20I skipper but that the star Indian batsman may not have heard him during the video conversation.
“Virat Kohli felt he lost the captaincy because of the BCCI President. There were nine people in the selection committee video conference, Ganguly told him ‘think about it once’. I think Kohli didn’t hear it, there were nine others there including myself and all other selectors, BCCI officials,” Sharma was heard saying in the video.
Ego clash between Ganguly and Kohli
Sharma said that he thought Ganguly and Kohli were at conflict with one another’s egos.
“Two egos clashing, one who is thinking that Ganguly has removed me from the captaincy, so I will teach him a lesson. He (Virat) gave a statement that Ganguly is doing this, basically to defame him. He (Virat) tried to tell this in the media… which backfired on him (Virat),” Chetan Sharma was heard saying in the video.
There can’t be two white-ball captains
Former India skipper Ganguly said on December 9, 2021:
“We (BCCI) had requested Virat not to step down as T20I captain. There was no plan to change captaincy. But he stepped down as T20I captain and the selectors decided not to split limited-overs captaincy, opting for a complete separation.”
Ganguly had made reference to the BCCI’s choice to give Rohit Sharma the T20I and ODI captaincy.: “Bottom line is that there can’t be two white-ball captains.”
Kohli wasn’t told to relinquish the T20 captaincy
“Before quitting the T20I captaincy, I had approached the BCCI and explained the reasons behind my decision. That was received very well. There was no offense or hesitation. I wasn’t told not to relinquish the T20 captaincy. Rather, it was taken as a progressive step, in the right direction.
I communicated at that time that I would like to continue as Test and ODI captain unless the office-bearers and the selectors felt that I shouldn’t carry on with this responsibility. My communication (to the BCCI) was clear,” Kohli had said.
Virat and Ganguly says ‘I am big’’
Chetan Sharma added in the sting video, “This is the dispute of the ego. He (Virat) says I am big.He (Ganguly) says I am big. Sourav Ganguly has also been the captain of the country. Very big captain, most trustworthy, and he is called the most successful captain even today. Virat feels that he is the most successful.. He (Virat) said he (Ganguly) is lying then there was a confrontation.”
Additionally, the existence of a dispute between Kohli and Sharma was questioned of the selectors’ chairman.
“There is no battle between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma but there is ego. Both are like big film stars, you can say, Amitabh Bachan and Dharmendra,” he added.
Are Indian players in a Doping scam?
The current chief selector also disclosed that 80–85% of the team’s players receive injections to feign fitness in order to be chosen for the team during the Chetan Sharma sting operation.
It has gotten so bad that even some of the top players have private physicians outside of the cricket board who administer these injections for them.
BCCI is looking into the matter
National selectors are reportedly under scrutiny by the BCCI since their contracts forbid them from speaking to the media.
“It will be (BCCI secretary) Jay’s (Shah) call as to what will be Chetan’s future. The question is whether T20 skipper Hardik Pandya or ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma would like to sit with Chetan in a selection meeting knowing that he has let out internal discussions,” a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
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