Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh said that the BCCI should be ready to pay a handsome amount if they want someone of good stature as the chief of the selection committee.
The position of a head selector is not profitable enough, in Harbhajan Singh’s opinion, given the presence of prominent former cricketers on televised commentary panels.
While talking on the Idea Exchange session of The Indian Express, Harbhajan Singh said: “To have a former cricketer of stature as the chief national selector of the men’s team, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) must be willing to pay handsomely.
A man with stature, one that has played the game quite often, will solve a lot of issues at the selector level. But why wouldn’t they take up the opportunity? I’ll give the example of Virender Sehwag. If you ask Virender Sehwag to become the chief selector, then the salary of that post needs to be analysed. I don’t know how much the chief selector in India earns, but if Sehwag is in commentary or in other businesses around cricket, then it’s likely he is earning more money.
If you want Sehwag, a player with stature, for the chief selector’s job, then spending money has to be key. If you don’t spend money, then you will have to choose selectors from players who may have only played a year and might not be that big a name. If a man like Rahul Dravid is made the coach, then the chief selector must have the same stature as well – jiski awaaz mein dum ho, jiske wajood mein dum ho (whose voice and stature carry weight).”
Currently, the chief selector of India's men’s team is paid INR 1 crore per annum, while other members of the committee are paid INR 90 lakhs each. On the other hand, the head coach of the Indian men’s team, Rahul Dravid gets INR 7 crores per annum.
The current selection committee for the senior men’s team is without a chairman after former fast bowler Chetan Sharma was at the center of a sting operation and subsequently resigned.
When asked whether he would like to take up the chief selectors post if offered the opportunity, Harbhajan Singh said it depended on pay parity with the national coach.
“Let’s see. If things shape up moving forward, and the coach and selector are equally paid, then why not? The job of the coach is to stay with the team and plan around the team. But team selection is also an equally important job. You have to pick and select the best players and if you don’t select players that are needed by the coach or captain, then the chief selector’s position doesn’t have value,” he added.
(Indian Express inputs)
