BCCI will have to immediately sack selection chairman Chetan Sharma

It is clear, Chetan spoke to someone he knew, without realizing it was going to be a massive hit job.

BCCI will have to immediately sack selection chairman Chetan Sharma

Chetan Sharma

Chetan Sharma, chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee, faces immediate sacking, following a sting operation on him. Contents of the sting, done by Zee Media, have gone viral on social media, where Chetan, a former India fast bowler has made some startling revelations.

Just to jog the readers’ memory, Chetan being sacked as BCCI selection head after India’s disastrous performance in the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022 and then being reinstated had itself raised eyebrows. The BCCI was quick to wield the axe at that time. However, when he was reinstated in January, the grapevine said he had “pulled the right strings” with a political party he owes allegiance to.

None can deny the contents of the sting operation, which shows Chetan in poor light. It is clear, Chetan spoke to someone he knew, without realizing it was going to be a massive hit job. It is well known the BCCI selectors usually do not speak to the media. At the most, there may be one quote in the BCCI press release or selectors like to talk as “according to sources” which gets published.

Sample this: “We were not favoring Rohit as a captain; we were just against Virat Kohli. BCCI took advantage of Virat’s poor form and removed him from the captaincy. They should not treat the country’s number-one batter like this. Shameful,” Chetan Sharma said in the sting operation.

Worse, what comes as a shocker is Chetan’s comments on Virat Kohli, someone who is in the effervescent form of his life across all white ball formats in the last few months. Chetan has spoken about how the BCCI wanted to clip Virat’s wings as he had become too big. It is well known when Virat Kohli and former coach Ravi Shastri had to be eased out, in 2021, the BCCI was looking for excuses. One was, that the duo had not won any ICC Trophy.

It has not made any difference to Virat or Ravi, as both have moved on and are doing well in their respective fields. As of today, Chetan speaking vocally, as per the video sting op on players “taking injections” and so on opens a can of worms. Fans will wonder if these shots were cortisone steroids or something more serious in nature which has escaped the anti-doping net.

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Sting operation on Chetan Sharma leaves him and BCCI red-faced

Chetan Sharma
Chetan Sharma

Chetan speaking on the hurried return of Jasprit Bumrah is also one point which exposes the shenanigans of people involved. At a time when the Border Gavaskar Trophy series is peaking and the second Test begins at the Kotla on Friday, Chetan has been exposed. Not only has he been bowled he has made it deeply embarrassing for the BCCI bosses. The BCCI will have to take a call on him. Sacking Chetan would be the right choice, something which has been left to the BCCI secretary Jay Shah, as per the latest reports.

It is well known Jasprit Bumrah got injured during the Birmingham Test last July. It was diagnosed as a stress fracture. That he was pushed into a quick return was shocking as back stress fractures take a long to heal. The poor fast bowler will be missing entire India versus Australia series. How he peaks before the ICC World Cup this October will be important for India.

Controversies and Chetan Sharma are not alien to each other. When the fast was smashed for a last-ball six by Javed Miandad in Sharjah and Pakistan won that match in March 1996, it was painful for Indian fans. For a very long, Chetan Sharma was the butt of ridicule. He had to hide his face in many places as the Sharjah incident would be recalled.

The latest sting operation on Chetan leaves him red-faced and vulnerable. Sacking is imminent as he has spoken far too much. Time for the BCCI to wield the axe, the world is watching.

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