Rajiv Shukla, spokesman for the Board of Control of Cricket in India, has advised Greg Chappell, coach of the Indian cricket team, to refrain from making comments about Members of Parliament.
Leading parliamentarians, including railway minister Lalu Yadav, senior Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav, CPI-M politburo member Brinda Karat and a host of MPs had expressed anger after the Indian team was bundled out for 91 in the second One-Day International in Durban.
"Poor Chappell is like the wife of a poor man who often becomes the target of comments of the people. But I would advise Chappell not to get dragged into the controversy and refrain from making any comments on members of the two houses of parliament," Shukla told rediff.com in an informal chat on Monday.
He wanted to know how many commentators know about the records of visiting teams to South Africa.
"What happened to the Indian team when they went to Australia? Then Chappell was not the coach of the Indian team. I would request the media to take out old footage of commentators and show them what they [team] were doing during their time," Shukla said.
According to sources, the selection committee, at its upcoming meeting in Mumbai on November 30, "will review the performance of the players and make major changes to the team's middle order".