Outgoing chief selector Chetan Sharma regained his place as the chairman of the senior men’s selection committee after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced its new selection panel for the men’s team. Ex-India player Chetan Sharma will yet again lead the selection committee, while the other previous committee members have been completely revamped. The team performance review meeting also saw the return of Yo-Yo test and introduction of the DEXA Test as a parameter of selection.

Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar, In his column on Mid-Day, shared his honest opinion on new BCCI selection committee.

“The CAC has just interviewed candidates for the selection committee panel, but not one was a bio-mechanics expert or a body science person. Since eligibility is going to be based on the fitness of a player, it might be better to have these experts in the selection panel than former cricketers,” wrote Gavaskar in his column.

“After all if it comes to a choice between two players for a spot in the team these experts would be in a better position to tell which among the two is fitter than the other and never mind the runs scored or wickets taken by the two players,” he added.

Gavaskar asserted that separate fitness test needs to be introduced for each position.

“The point I am trying to make is fitness is an individual thing and there is no such thing as one size fits all. The quick bowlers need a different level than the spinners, the wicket keepers need an even higher level and the batters perhaps the least. So it’s rough when the parameters are set for everybody and not according to one’s specialty,” he wrote.

“Cricket fitness should be the prime consideration. And yes, it would be revealing if these fitness tests are done in the public domain with the media present for then we would know if a player is ‘yo yo’ or no no,” he added.