19 March,2011 02:11 AM IST | | Ayaz Memon
Was there a fracas between the president elect of the BCCI and the chief selector ranged on one side and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on the other over the composition of the team to play the West Indies in Chennai tomorrow?
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has had to deal with several prickly issues
I doubt that is the case even if a meeting did take place between the aforementioned people. I suspect that the harsh scrutiny the Indian team is under makes for a great deal of speculation, some of it downright wild. The BCCI has issued an official denial and I hope that this doesn't trigger off fresh controversy.
But it must also be said that some BCCI higher-ups in the past have been intrusive. The history of Indian cricket is littered with stories about conflicts between players and administrators on various issues, with team selection often being central to this. I remember on an overseas tour in my early years on the circuit the captain/coach being called every night by the senior functionaries of the BCCI to find out the progress of the team, and every now and then being told what "the best course of action could be''.
I can't remember the captain or coach being too happy. Indian cricket I would like to believe, however, has moved ahead from such feudalism since. In the present situation, talk of this whole 'Chennai connection' between the president-elect, the chief selector, the captain and two players seems just too pat. I must qualify though that I write this on surmise based on what's appeared in the media and with no first-hand information. If indeed, the agenda of the celebrated meeting in Chennai conforms to speculation, then my vote goes clearly to Dhoni. Once the squad has been chosen, the captain takes over as the custodian. For better or for worse will, of course, determine his future.
