More slams selection voting system

Kiran More vents his opinions on the system at the end of his tenure © AFP

With less than three weeks to go before his tenure as Indian chairman of selectors comes to an end, Kiran More has criticised the voting system in the selection process, and admitted that the sacking of Sourav Ganguly as captain was the toughest decision in his four-year career.

In an interview to Times Now, an Indian news channel, More narrated an incident before the first Test against Sri Lanka in Chennai, in which Ganguly, Rudra Pratap Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were picked at the expense of Zaheer Khan, Dheeraj Jadhav and Dinesh Karthik. The other selectors included Yashpal Sharma, Gopal Sharma and Pranab Roy. Having claimed that Ganguly was picked as the third seamer, ahead of Zaheer, More was reportedly upset that nothing could be done about the 3-2 voting system.

"This happened in Madras (Chennai) where three selectors walked into the meeting and said this is what they want. Greg Chappell (coach) and Rahul Dravid (captain) were also present. There is no further discussion. It really hits you badly. I was very disappointed," More said. "We requested the selectors but once three people have decided there is little you can do. Then there is the secretary who plays an important role. But voting is not good at all."

VB Chandrasekhar, the South Zone selector, concurred with More's views. "It's happened many times in More's tenure. I do remember the event. It was one of those chaotic meetings," he recalled. "You come out feeling a bit wound down and tend to think there is not much reasoning when three people strongly feel they are right. The chairman should be a strong person who sets the vision for the committee. Interaction with the captain and coach is important. Then there is no question of voting."

Regarding Ganguly, More suggested that he retire gracefully, citing the example of Chappell, who scored a hundred in his last Test for Australia. "I would ask Ganguly to give it one more year and then decide how he wants to be remembered," he said. "Ganguly still has chances but you should know when to go and what is going to benefit you."

Ganguly was not included in India's side for next month Champions Trophy.