Chetan Sharma resigns 2 days after sting operation: 8 shocking claims he made
India's Chairman of selectors, Chetan Sharma has resigned after being caught in a controversial sting operation. Photo: Twitter
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Chief Selector Chetan Sharma has handed in his resignation after a sting operation caught him speaking several objectionable things against Indian cricketers.
The news of Sharma's resignation was tweeted by news agency ANI. Sharma sent his resignation to BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, who accepted it, tweeted ANI.
BCCI chief selector Chetan Sharma resigns from his post. He sent his resignation to BCCI Secretary Jay Shah who accepted it.
— ANI (@ANI) February 17, 2023
(File Pic) pic.twitter.com/1BhoLiIbPc
Action against Sharma was expected after the sting, given that his comments were bound to rattle BCCI.
The former Indian pacer was caught under fire after the sting operation in which he allegedly revealed sensational information about Indian cricketers. He took the names of Indian cricketers like Hardik Pandya, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. He even went on to say that only five selectors, including him, run cricket in India. He said that they are the ones who decide the present and the future of the Indian cricket.
Sharma spoke candidly (not knowing he was being taped) about his hold on the Indian cricket team, the feud between Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli, the friction between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and also that Indian cricketers take injections to declare themselves fit ahead of international tours.
Here are 8 shocking things Chetan Sharma said:
1. 'Ganguly never liked Kohli'
Sharing his thoughts on the Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli saga that began in December 2021, Sharma said that Ganguly never liked Kohli. He said that "Ganguly did not favour Rohit but he never liked Virat. You can put it this way." The differences between the two crept up after Kohli was told that he would be removed as captain of white ball cricket in December 2021.
Kohli, in a press-conference ahead of the South Africa tour, said that he was never informed about the decision of leaving the ODI captaincy. On this, Sharma said that Ganguly had asked Kohli to "think about it once" on leaving the captaincy of T20I cricket as the BCCI selectors were not in favour of having different captains for ODIs and T20Is.
"Virat Kohli felt he lost the captaincy because of BCCI President. There were 9 people in the selection committee video conference. They may have told him to think about it once. I think Kohli didn't hear this, there were 9 others there including myself and all other selectors, BCCI officials. Kohli might not have heard him," Sharma said.
2. 'Kohli considered himself above the game'
Sharma also narrowed his attack against Kohli saying that the former captain "considered himself above the game." He clearly said that the press-conference Kohli did in December 2021 in which he indirectly attacked Sourav Ganguly was unnecessary.
Sharma said that "it is unclear why Virat brought up the topic during a press conference before going to South Africa as a captain. The topic was not relevant to the team's discussion, and it is unclear why Virat chose to bring it up." Sharma said that maybe Kohli wanted to exact revenge on Ganguly through the press conference. "He just wanted to get back at Sourav, that's why he did it," he said.
He further said that the truth is, there was a conversation happening between six to nine people, during which Ganguly made a comment that conflicted with what was Virat saying. "It is a personal matter that remains unresolved," Sharma said.
3. 'Rohit Sharma not to playT20Is, Hardik Pandya to be the new captain'
Another startling revelation made by Chetan Sharma was that the current ODI captain Rohit Sharma will no longer be playing in the T20Is and that Hardik Pandya will soon be the new captain of the format.
Rohit Sharma's captaincy in T20Is got in jeopardy after Indian team faced a drubbing in the T20 World Cup in England. Since then, senior players like Rohit, Virat, Shami, KL Rahul were replaced in the shorter format with players like Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Umran Malik.
"In the T20I format, strong starters like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are given "rest" to give Shubman Gill an opportunity. He stated that Pandya would take over as captain in the long run and that Rohit would no longer be part of the T20I set up.
4. 'Players take injections to declare themselves fit'
Sharma said that some players consult doctors in private and take injections that escapes the doping test and they are declared fit to play international matches. "They are big doctors. Do they really face shortage of doctors? They can have them come to their house after making a phone call and they will give them an injection," Sharma said.
He said that the players are even willing to play with 85% fitness."Even if players are unfit, they ask to let them play even though the medical science does not clear them. Players never refused to play matches and want to play. There is Jasprit Bumrah who cannot even bend properly right now," Sharma said.
5. 'Jasprit Bumhrah hid his injury'
Chetan Sharma disclosed that Indian right-arm pacer Jasprit Bumrah hid his injury during the T20 series against Australia last year. Sharma said that Bumrah came in as a fit player, but before the 2nd match of the series, his pain level aggravated but he did not keep himself in the T20 World Cup 2022 squad. He was later forced to play in the 3rd match and still he hasn't recovered fully.
6. Pandya a 'regular visitor' at Chetan Sharma's house
Stating that Hardik Pandya will be permanently given the captaincy of the T20I format, Sharma also said that Pandya is a regular visitor at his house. He mentioned that he shares a good relationship with Pandya. Apart from Pandya, Sharma also took the names of Deepak Hooda, Umesh Yadav who visited him at his place recently. Hardik, Umesh and Deepak Hooda visited my house recently. They trust me," Sharma said.
7. 'Ego clash between Kohli and Rohit'
Speaking on the relationship between current ODI captain Rohit Sharma and former captain Virat Kohli, Sharma said that there isn't a rivalry but a problem of ego between the two. According to Chetan Sharma, there are two camps in the Indian team and Rohit and Kohli are leaders of each side.
"There is no battle between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma but there is ego. Both are like big film stars, you can say like Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra."
8. 'Careers of Sanju Samson, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan in jeopardy'
As such the selection of wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson in the Indian team still remains a topic of hot debate, Sharma said that after some good performances by Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill, the careers of KL Rahul and Sanju Samson and Shikhar Dhawan looks in danger.