Ex-cricketers of stature don’t take selectors’ job; Harbhajan Singh explains why

He explained that a player like Virender Sehwag becomes a commentator or takes up other jobs because he gets paid a large sum of money there.


Ex-cricketers of stature don’t take selectors’ job; Harbhajan Singh explains why

Harbhajan Singh

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh explained why ex-players of stature do not take up the job of the chief selector. The main reason behind this is that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) doesn’t pay the chief selector handsomely like they pay the head coach, claimed Harbhajan.

He elucidated that a player like Virender Sehwag becomes a commentator or takes up other jobs because he gets paid a large sum of money there. “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? ” Harbhajan Singh said during an Idea Exchange session of The Indian Express.

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 analyzed. 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,” he added. 

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Harbhajan Singh asserts that the BCCI should select a chief selector whose voice carries weight

Ex-cricketer of stature doesn't take chief selector's job; Harbhajan Singh explains why
Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh then asserted that if the BCCI doesn’t spend money then it will have someone who may have played a year and might not be a big name. “If a man like Rahul Dravid is made the coach, then the chief selector must have the same stature as well, whose voice and stature carry weight.”

It’s worth noting that the chief selector of senior men’s team earns Rs 1 crore per annum, while the other members of the selection committee get Rs 90 lakhs. India head coach Rahul Dravid reportedly paid over Rs 7 crore.

Harbhajan’s statement came a couple of days after the infamous sting operation on former chief selector Chetan Sharma, who resigned from the post after the controversy. The BCCI sacked him from the role after India’s failed T20 World Cup campaign, but surprisingly, he was reinstated as the chairman in January. As a result of the sting operation, the current selection committee is without a chairman now.

On asked whether Harbhajan would like to become the chairman of the selection committee, the 42-year-old once again emphasized that he should get equal pay. He explained that if the selectors don’t pick players that are needed by the coach or captain, then his position doesn’t have value.

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