There is growing discontent between the Team India selection committee members and the BCCI after they reportedly felt betrayed by the board after a recent episode involving veteran opener Rohit Sharma.
After scoring 11 and 26 in the first two ODIs against England, Rohit Sharma’s India career was reportedly over as a media report claimed that the series finale at Lord's would be his farewell appearance for India.
The social media buzz became intense over the report, and two days before the match, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia publicly dismissed the speculation. Rohit Sharma then silenced his critics by scoring 138 runs in the Lord’s ODI.
Now a new report in Dainik Jagran has stated that this episode has exposed a growing disconnect between India's selectors and the BCCI's top brass.
According to the report, Rohit's participation in the 2027 ODI World Cup is not desired by the Indian team administration. It further disclosed that Rohit had been informed and that one of the selectors had confided in a senior BCCI official about the issue.
As a result, there were rumors that Rohit would retire following the third ODI at Lord's. The speculation swiftly grew into a significant social media discussion. Saikia then publicly supported Rohit by endorsing the opening.
The Indian selectors reportedly felt "betrayed" by the BCCI's open support for Rohit. They believed that the team management still held the opinion that "the Indian team cannot win the 2027 ODI World Cup with Rohit in the side," but the board's position had changed in reaction to the social media narrative.
This whole controversy has reportedly put a question mark on chief selector Ajit Agarkar’s future. The BCCI is likely to replace Agarkar with VVS Laxman, who is currently the head of the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
According to the report, a final decision is anticipated at the BCCI Annual General Meeting in September, even though the idea is now only in the "consideration stage." It further stated that India's performance in the forthcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka could determine Agarkar's destiny.
(Dainik Jagran report)
