Reports: Laxman Sivaramakrishnan out of contention for the chairman of selectors post

With the tenure of the MSK Prasad-led committee coming to an end, the position of the Board of Control for Cricket in India [BCCI] chairman of selectors is up for grabs. A plethora of former cricketers Ajit Agarkar, Venkatesh Prasad, Rajesh Chauhan, Nayan Mongia, Chetan Chauhan, Nikhil Chopra, Abey Kuruvilla had applied for the post including former spinner-turned commentator Laxman Sivaramakrishnan.

Sivaramakrishnan was seen as a prime contender for the high-profile job but if the reports are to be believed, his candidature has been rejected by the BCCI as multiple reports suggest that Sivaramakrisnan’s application has not been received by the board.

And, with the former spinner reportedly out of the contention, it is believed that apex cricketing body will forward the shortlisted names to the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC)- consisting of Madan Lal, RP Singh and Sulakshana Naik- after a board meeting on February 16, Ahmedabad Mirror reported on Saturday (February 15).

Sivaramakrishnan was being backed by the South Zone

The development comes as a huge surprise considering that Laxman Sivaramakrishnan was being backed by the South zone. The Bengaluru based outlet revealed that Sivaramakrishnan had applied for the post by sending the application to the BCCI itself. But the highly placed sourced in the BCCI informed that no such application has been received. The former spinner also happens to be an Indian Cements employee and is linked to the former BCCI president and the Managing Director of the company. 

The Srinivasan-led India Cements is the principal owner of the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings. Sivaramakrishnan is a veteran commentator who has been calling games- domestic or International- for almost two decades now. With him almost out of the reckoning, the likes of former Indian pacers like Ajit Agarkar and Venkatesh Prasad have become the prime contenders for the job.

While Agarkar has served as Mumbai selector in the past, Venkatesh Prasad has had stints with the senior Indian team in his capacity as a bowling coach- notably during the 2007 ICC T20 World Cup. The question before the BCCI now is whether or not to do away with the zonal system. Should they do away with the zonal system, Agarkar will stand a chance to come in.