New selection committee will pick India squad for South Africa ODIs, confirms Sourav Ganguly

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly on Monday said the Indian squad for the three-match ODI series against South Africa at home in March will be chosen by a revamped selection committee. The first match will be played in Dharamsala on March 12 while the second and third match will be played in Lucknow and Kolkata on March 14 and 17, respectively. The Proteas toured India for a three-T20I and three-Test series last September-October.

The current selection body led by MSK Prasad will see some changes as the chairman himself and Central Zone’s Gagan Khoda will be stepping down. Former India cricketers Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Ajit Agarkar, Rajesh Chauhan and Venkatesh Pradesh are some of the key contenders to replace the duo in the five-member panel.

“The Test squad for New Zealand has already been picked by the old committee and new committee’s first meeting will be held before home ODI series against South Africa. The interviews for short-listed candidates will happen soon,” Latestly cited agencies quoting Ganguly as said.

The 47-year-old also said that Madan Lal and Sulakshana Naik are members of the Cricket Advisory Committee but Gautam Gambhir is being replaced as he can not hold any position since he is a member of the parliament. “We have decided on Gautam’s replacement and the announcement will be made soon. Madan Lal and Sulakshana are there,” he added.

Sourav Ganguly updates Hardik Pandya’s fitness status

Ganguly also informed that ace all-rounder Hardik Pandya is still to get back to full fitness following his back injury. “He can’t play right now. It will take some time before he gets fit,” he said. Hardik recently failed to pass the fitness test in his bid to return to the national side.

The March series against South Africa would make Ganguly nostalgic for exactly 20 years ago, he had led India as a full-fledged captain for the first time and the opponents were the same South Africa, led by the late Hansie Cronje. India had won that home series 3-2 with Ganguly himself ending up as the highest scorer in the series.

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