CHETAN SHARMA'S STING OPERATION EXPOSES THE DARK SIDE OF INDIAN CRICKET?

During Sharma's tenure as BCCI chief selector, one of the biggest controversies was the open war of words between then cricket board chief Sourav Ganguly and former captain Virat Kohli...

- RENIN WILBEN

Former India chief selector Chetan Sharma landed in a major soup after a sting operation conducted on him by Zee TV. The ex-India pace bowler, who could also contribute with the bat, was earlier sacked as chief of the selection committee after India’s debacle at the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. In a surprising U-turn, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reinstated him as chief selector even as they picked a new selection committee. Even before the sting operation, Sharma was the center of controversy for various reasons. With him at the helm of selections, India lost matches by 10 wickets in two consecutive T20 World Cups. The 57-year-old was criticized for lacking communication skills and rarely holding press conferences to explain selections and omissions. However, once his sting operation, in which he made some shocking allegations, went public, his tenure as chief selector of the senior national team became untenable. It was thus least surprising that he quietly put in his papers a few days after the sting, and the same was accepted by BCCI secretary Jay Shah without much ado. BCCI has maintained complete silence over the matter. It can be termed a dignified one. At the same time, if Sharma’s allegations are true, his sting operation has exposed some dark secrets in Indian cricket.

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