BCCI appointed CAC's questions for Selectors: Plan beyond Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant replacement in Test, future stars

New Delhi, Jan 3: The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) on Monday (January 2) interviewed potential candidates for the national selection committee and asked a variety of questions pertaining to the current status of the Indian Cricket Team.

As per a PTI report, queries like future plans for Rohit Sharma's captaincy, the potential stars from the 2022 U-19 World Cup-winning side, Rishabh Pant's replacement in Test cricket in his absence, pool of Gen-Next spinners across formats were asked by the Ashok Malholtra-led selection committee.

Questions asked of the candidates

As per a PTI report, a source in the know-how of the selection process informed the wide range of queries from the CAC.

Some of the questions were as follows

# What should be a three-year leadership plan across formats once Rohit Sharma's captaincy tenure ends?

# What is the pool of Gen-Next spinners that we have across formats?

# Is any 2022 U-19 World Cup-winning player ready to be upgraded to the highest level and shaped up for the World Cup?

# Can there be any other option apart from KS Bharath, who could be tried as Test keeper in Rishabh Pant's absence?

# What kind of a combination could be termed proper with regard to the blend of juniors and seniors going into the World Cup?

# A few candidates were given names of specific batters and asked what is the ideal batting position they think will work for them.

# Questions on how to build different combinations for the World Cup were also asked.

Who is the frontrunner for chief selector?

As PTI report, Chetan Sharma - who headed the previous selection committee - is the favourite to retain his chairmanship. He was along with the rest of the selectors were dumped by the BCCI along with his colleagues after Team India's exit from the T20 World Cup. Team India lost to eventual champions England in the 2022 semi-final in a one-sided game.

"Chetan is favourite and Harvinder (Singh) also appeared for the interview. So North and Central Zone may be taken care of. Junior chairman of selectors S Sharath was also asked by BCCI brass to apply. He is best equipped about the supply chain of talent from pathways cricket," a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Selectors in contention

From East Zone, Former India cricketer Shiv Sundar Das looks like a runaway favourite.

Gujarat's Mukund Parmar is also a strong candidate from the West Zone.

One-year contract for selectors

It has been learnt that this time, the BCCI will give the contract for only one year to avoid any confusion and keep the ODI World Cup 2023 preparations in mind.

"This time, it will be a one-year contract with a focus on World Cup," the source said.

It is understood that a lot of focus was on how to build combinations for the World Cup.