Three possible reasons why Srikkanth could continue as chairman

By Amrut Thobbi

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Krishnamachari Srikkanth, the chairman of the national selection committee is likely to be given an extension, according to the grapevine. If Srikkanth was the CEO of a corporate body, his head would certainly have rolled following Team India’s worst disaster in several decades. So the buzz from the grapevine was a shocker.

After much thinking, I believe Srikkanth’s possible extension could be because of the following three reasons:

1. Media Management:

While Srikkanth may be perceived as a failure by the world in general, his masters in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are happy with his media management. Srikkanth’s primary role is not selecting the team but to ensure that he cops the blame on behalf of the BCCI bigwigs if India loses and praise them if India wins. The BCCI is pleased with Srikkanth’s effort in this regard and believes he deserves another term. In fact, BCCI members lauded him for justifying successive losses by Team India and convincing a section of the media that nothing is wrong with the side. That takes some ability!

2. The magic of ‘K’ letter:

Apparently Ekta Kapoor met some of the BCCI top guns at a party and told them Srikkanth would be the luckiest for Indian cricket because of his double “K” in his name as also a “K” in his first name.

In light of Anna Hazare’s thumping success, Sharad Pawar has given his nod to rope in three names from the civil society to be present at the selection committee. They will not have the power to vote, but they are inducted for reasons for transparency. The three names? Karan Johar, Karan Thapar and Kim Sharma. Yes, all names starting with “K”!

3. Multi-tasking

Following the criticisms that India did not have a back-up third opener once Virender Sehwag was injured and unavailable, Srikkanth has volunteered to be selector cum emergency opener. This out-of-the-box thinking has clearly impressed the BCCI.

(Amrut Thobbi, an engineering graduate now pursuing Masters in journalism, is an ardent cricket fan. His passion for writing inspired him to give up a sales and marketing job, which he does not regret. By writing on cricket, he wants to relive his dream of becoming a cricketer. He has also worked as a freelance writer in education and technology sectors)