Sourav Ganguly interfering with India's selection matters? Former selectors accuse BCCI chief of overstepping

New Delhi, March 4: Former India cricketer and current president of the BCCI, Sourav Ganguly, has been regularly attending the selection meetings ever since he took over the office and it is something that isn't going down well with the selectors.

The BCCI constitution bars the board president from interfering with the selection matters hence he's not allowed to attend the meetings pertaining to the selection of squads for that impacts the independence and autonomy of the selection committee.

The Supreme Court approved the BCCI constitution says, "The President is shorn of his say in selections." Only the BCCI secretary is allowed to attend the selection meetings and he's supposed to act as a convener.

However, reports claim that ever since his appointment as the board president in 2019, Ganguly has been regularly attending the selection meetings.

As per an Indian Express report, several former selectors and a current selector under Ganguly's tenure have accused the former India captain of interfering with Team India's selection.

The report went on quoting a senior BCCI functionary that Ganguly has attended every selection meeting since he took over as BCCI president in October 2019. But due to Ganguly's 'stature and position in Indian cricket', no one could object him to attending the selection meetings.

One of the selectors on condition of anonymity told the news daily that Ganguly's action 'made many committee members uncomfortable and guarded in expressing their opinion'. Some even felt bullied by Ganguly's presence.

Ganguly was recently criticised after Virat Kohli's sacked as ODI captain and the latter came out in the public to claim that he wasn't kept in the loop about his sacking. It was also claimed that the legendary India cricketer was instrumental in removing Kohli as the captain and handing over the leadership baton to Rohit Sharma.