Mumbai Cricket Association name Salil Ankola as Chairman of selectors

Former Indian pacer Salil Ankola, who made his India debut in the same match as Sachin Tendulkar, has been appointed as the Chairman of selectors for the Mumbai Cricket Association for the upcoming domestic season.

Mumbai Cricket Association had named Ankola as one of the shortlisted candidates for the coaching role and the pacer was the front-runner for the position as well. But with the BCCI signaling January 10 as the start of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in six bio-secure hubs across the country, surprises came right out of the MCA office as Ankola has now been named as the Chairman of selectors.

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Sanjay Patil, Ravindra Thaker, Zulfiqar Parkar, and Ravi Kulkarni will make up for the selection committee while MCA are yet to announce the new coach for the season.

Ankola played a solitary Test and 20 ODIs for India before a severe surgery failure impacted his walking and ended his career. He thus ventured into the film industry with over 5000 successful episodes in movies and Hindi serial industries.

Rajput hails Ankola’s intention

Former India opener Lalchand Rajput-headed Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) feels Ankola’s addition is a signal towards the association shifting their focus to former Test players to resurrect Mumbai Cricket from the relative abyss.

“Ankola is a former India player who wanted to give something back to the game, which is why applied for the job and showed keen interest. Our committee made him the chief selector because we felt that he was the only former Test cricketer amongst the applicants,” Rajput told TOI.

“With this move, we have given a strong signal that we want more Test players to serve Mumbai cricket. Former cricketers who want to serve Mumbai cricket will be welcomed to do so by this committee. They will be respected and be given the opportunity to serve Mumbai cricket in various capacities.”