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BREAKING: Ganguly is new technical committee chief; Prasad, Khoda new selectors

By Harish Kotian
November 09, 2015

Former India players Gagan Khoda and M S K Prasad were named as the new national selectors at the Board of Control for Cricket India's annual general meeting, in Mumbai, on Monday.

They replace Roger Binny and Rajinder Singh Hans from South and Central Zone respectively.

BCCI president Shashank Manohar admitted that while Hans's performance was not up to the mark as a selector, Binny was asked to step down considering that his son Stuart is an active member of the Indian squad.

"I said there should not be injustice on Stuart Binny also. If he is a deserving player he should not get not flak from the media that because he is Roger Binny's son he is playing. We can’t destroy his career also," he said.

To look into the controversial conflict of issues, the BCCI appointed former chief justice A P Shah as their Ombudsman.

"With regards to conflict of interest, the ombudsman appointed by the Board is Justice A P Shah, who will look into the complaints if any with regards to conflict of interest," BCCI chief Manohar said.

He pointed out that the Ombudsman will work independently without any interference from the Board members.

"That's why I said that to eliminate bias from the decision making process we have appointed Justice A P Shah, who is a former chief justice. He would decide the issues and nobody from the Board is going to decide," he added.

Meanwhile, former India captain Sourav Ganguly was named as the technical committee chairman, replacing Anil Kumble who previously held the post. He has also been included in the revamped Governing Council of the Indian Premier League, comprising of chairman Rajeev Shukla along with Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ajay Shirke, and M P Pandove.

The IPL GC has been cut down to eight from 13 and might include three independent members.

When asked if the BCCI was comfortable in giving the dual responsibility to Ganguly, who is also the president of Cricket Association of Bengal, Manohar replied: "He is not doing commentary but he can pursue whatever profession he wants. The conflict would arise if he has a commercial interest in the Board because we can't stop him from pursuing his profession. I am a lawyer and I can't be told I should not practice, what can be told to me I should not appear in Board cases."

Speaking on India's scheduled series against Pakistan in December, Manohar claimed that they will abide by any decision taken by the central government. "To play against Pakistan we need to get government permission. So we need to speak to the government and whatever decision the government takes the BCCI will decide accordingly."

Harish Kotian / Rediff.com

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