Former India wicket-keeper batsman Farokh Engineer has slammed the Indian selectors and even called the MSK Prasad-led panel a 'mickey mouse selection committee'. "We have got a Mickey Mouse selection committee," Engineer told Times of India. Engineer was in Pune to visit former India cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar's cricket academy.
Engineer, who represented India in 46 Tests and 5 ODIs between 1961 and 1976, questioned the qualification of the selectors, who he believed lacked enough international experience.
'How are the selectors qualified'
"How are the selectors qualified? Between them, have they played about 10-12 Test matches. I didn't even know one of the selectors during the World Cup and I asked him 'who the hell he was', because he was wearing the India blazer and he said he was one of the selectors," said Engineer.
Engineer was scathing in his assessment and even went on to say that he only the selectors getting cups of tea for India captain Virat Kohli's wife Anushka Sharma during the World Cup. "All they were doing was getting Anushka Sharma (Kohli's wife) cups of tea," said Engineer.
The current Indian selection committee is headed by MSK Prasad (6 Tests, 17 ODIs) while former India cricketers Devang Gandhi (4 Tests, 3 ODIs), Sarandeep Singh (3 Tests, 5 ODIs), Jatin Paranjpe (4 ODIs) and Gagan Khoda (2 ODIs) are the other four members.
Engineer also said that the CoA was a complete waste of time. Their stint came to an end when Sourav Ganguly took over as the 39th BCCI president.
"COA, in my opinion, were a complete waste of time. I read the other day that each one of them (the COA) has pocketed Rs 3.5 crore. It's criminal. Plus I believe they got paid thousands and thousands for attending meetings and all, I feel they were on a honeymoon. The honeymoon is over."
Echoing the sentiments of several former cricketers, Engineer too said that Ganguly as a BCCI president is a brilliant move and that the former Indian captain will be great for Indian cricket going forward.
"He was a dashing player, a captain who took bold decisions and I hope he does the same thing as board president," Engineer said.
