Chetan Sharma resigned with immediate effect following a Zee media TV sting operation in which the BCCI chief selector made some controversial comments about the Indian cricket team. After his revelations, it was expected that he would lose his job, but the former cricketer resigned on Friday (February 17). BCCI Secretary Jay Shah accepted his resignation.
Recently, Zee Media conducted a TV sting operation in which Chetan Sharma spoke at length about some contentious issues in Indian cricket. He mentioned the rift between Virat Kohli and former BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly, rumors of a rift between Kohli and Rohit Sharma, certain players taking injections to play despite not being fully fit, and so on.
Claims made by Chetan Sharma
1. On Kohli vs Ganguly
When a player grows in stature, he begins to believe that he has grown to be much larger than the board. Then he begins to believe that no one can stand up to him. He believes that the game cannot continue without him. But has this ever occurred? Many famous players have come and gone, but cricket remains the same. He desired to confront the former BCCI president. I attended the selection meeting. The BCCI president clearly told Kohli to reconsider his decision to step down as T20I captain. We all advised him to reconsider his choice. However, he lied to the media when he stated that no one on the board had made such a suggestion to him.
He was speaking to the media ahead of his tour of South Africa. He brought up the issue of what happened in the selection committee unnecessarily.
2. On the alleged rift between Kohli vs Rohit Sharma
There are no schisms between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma; they mutually support one another. Both are similar to Amitabh and Dharmendra.
3. Do players conceal their injuries in order to play?
Perhaps 10-15% do this and ask us to let them play, but medical science does not allow it. Players, understandably, want to play; they do not want to miss any games. In [Jaspreet] Bumrah’s case, he couldn’t even bend down, so what could he do? There are only a few such cases, but some of them simply take injections on their own and claim to be fine.
In December 2020, Chetan Sharma was named BCCI chief selector. He was fired after Rohit and Co.’s 2022 T20 World Cup run but was later reappointed in early 2023. However, it was revealed that the controversial sting operation was the reason for his unceremonious exit. The 57-year-old played 23 Tests and 65 ODIs for India, taking 61 and 67 wickets. He also had one Test fifty and an ODI century to his name.
Sharma’s tenure as chief selector saw a lot of upheaval in Indian cricket, with the Kohli-Ganguly schism and a slew of captaincy changes, but the TV sting operation was the final nail in the coffin, effectively ending his contentious tenure.