Chief selector MSK Prasad says, captain is boss on field but cannot dictate team selection

Courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: The chairman of the national selectors of Team India, MSK Prasad will soon be completing one year at the reputed post. It has  been a successful journey so far for the chief selector as India regained the top spot in Test cricket and players like Gautam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik, Abhinav Mukund and Yuvraj Singh made their comebacks.

With the 2019 ICC World Cup as a priority, Prasad, who played six Tests and 17 ODIs for India, spoke his mind on a wide range of topics in an interview with Wisden, including who has the final say in team selection.

What happens inside that room hardly gets out and people assume that it is the captain who selects the team but Prasad cleared the air about the question and revealed that it is the selection committee's decision that is final.

Prasad said, "At the end of the day, it is the selection committee's decision that prevails. I know I will be lying if I said it (debates due to differing opinions) hasn't happened at all because you should always have multitudes of opinion so that you can come up with a good solution."

Prasad also mentioned that both MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli are very accommodating even though they have had an opinion different to that of the committee on numerous occasions.

"Fortunately, whatever the selection committee meetings that we have had, whether it is with Mahi or with Virat, finally when our discussions and arguments are in the right direction, both of them are very accommodative and they give real importance to the process," he revealed.

When asked about what happens when the selectors don't agree with the captain, Prasad replied, "Not many people know that. They all think it is Mahi who selects the team, or it is Virat who selects the team. It doesn’t happen like that. Questions have been asked about whether we can impose our opinion on their superstar status. Frankly speaking, when they sit in the selection committee, they sit as a captain. They never come with any kind of baggage behind them. All the meetings we have had so far have been interesting meetings. They have always given importance and priority to the selection committee. The final call is always ours, the selectors take the final call. If that means that, at times, we have to overrule the points that are raised, then so be it," he concluded.