Having relinquished his post as senior Indian men's selection panel chairman, MSK Prasad on Thursday (March 5) expressed gratitude towards the BCCI and his colleagues in the committee.
See Also: MSK Prasad names his 10 best back-up players for Team India
The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), appointed by the BCCI in January, named former spinner Sunil Joshi as the next chief selector on Wednesday (March 4). The three-member CAC, comprising former India cricketers Madan Lal, RP Singh and Sulakshana Naik, also added Harvinder Singh to the All-India Senior Selection Committee in place of Gagan Khoda.
"My best wishes to Sunil, Harvinder. I hope they will have a successful tenure. For me it was an honour being the chairman of the Indian selection committee. Me and my committee tried our best and I wish to thank the BCCI and my colleagues in the panel for this honour," Prasad told Mumbai Mirror.
Looking back at his tenure, he added: "I demitted chairman's office only today and I need time to reflect on my tenure."
Prasad, who was at the helm of affairs for almost four years, often coped criticism for his selection policies. He was called a lightweight chairman by critics but the 44-year-old doesn’t agree with the claim.
"We took taken some important measures and the most satisfying was the transition we had in the team from MS Dhoni to Virat Kohli. It was a smooth changeover. I am also happy to express that we have developed enough bench strength across all formats. It's up to the players to showcase their talent and bring glory to Indian cricket," he remarked.
The decision to drop Ajinkya Rahane in South Africa, Cheteshwar Pujara and Shikhar Dhawan from playing XI in England was considered to be wrong calls.
While Prasad didn’t mull over those points, he certainly believes that the selectors on tour should have a say in the team selection.
"I would not like to be critical on anything except one factor in the Lodha reforms. From the South Africa tour (early 2018), the selector on call on overseas tours does not have a say in the touring selection committee. It was there previously. The best thing would be to have the selector in the touring committee. Because he would bring a dispassionate view in the selection of the playing XI," MSK Prasad concluded.
