The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday (March 4) named former spinner Sunil Joshi as the next chairman of selectors. Apart from Joshi, former India pacer Harvinder Singh has also been added to the All-India Senior Selection Committee.

The two appointments were made by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), comprising former India cricketers Madan Lal, RP Singh and Sulakshana Naik. And the process of finalizing names wasn’t easy as the CAC members had to keep in mind a couple of key factors.

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Speaking to TOI, CAC chief Lal and his younger colleague Singh admitted that they were conscious of picking selectors who can deal with a dominating personality like skipper Virat Kohli.  

"We had this (Virat) factor the most in our mind," Lal said, before RP explained: "Our captain is a high-performing player. We have kept it in mind that we find somebody who can communicate well with him, because in the end it is the captain who has to run the team. The captain matters a lot to the team and so it is important on how you communicate with him. What is gone is in the past, the two selectors that we picked had the best answers on this topic."

Commenting on Dhoni’s selection issue, a source in the BCCI told TOI: "The CAC asked the candidates whether they would pick Dhoni if he had a good IPL, even though he hasn't played domestic cricket for the last 7-8 months. Also, how would they communicate with a legend like him, especially if he is not picked. Joshi said that if MSD had a good IPL, he would be considered."

The candidates were also asked about another critical issue.

"The CAC also asked the candidates whether they would straight away pick players coming off an injury for India, or ask them to play a first-class match, prove their fitness and then come back into the team," said the source.

(With TOI inputs)