Selectors are independent, insists BCCI

The Board of Control for Cricket in India refuted former selector Mohinder Amarnath's accusation that its president, N Srinivasan, had blocked a move to sack under-fire skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, insisting that the selectors are "independent".

Amarnath created a flutter by openly admitting that "certain internal reason" stopped the selection committee from replacing Dhoni as India captain after eight successive Test defeats in England and Australia.

But BCCI vice-president and Indian Premier League chairman Rajeev Shukla rebutted the allegations.

"I will not go into what he has said. I don't think this has ever happened. I don't think it is appropriate to give statements like this.

"Whatever one has to say, one can say while participating in the [selection] meeting. Making comments about it, I think, is not appropriate, as it creates some kind of perception in the minds of players and fans.

"Selectors are independent. They are not under any pressure," Shukla asserted.

Amarnath, while making the allegation, did not divulge the exact reasons for not sacking Dhoni despite India's Test humiliation which has continued at home as well in the ongoing series against England.

"Definitely, there were discussions to replace Dhoni and people were agreeing to do so but for some internal reason, it didn't happen. I will not like to divulge what the reasons were. But when the time is right, I will let the people of this country know about the reasons," Amarnath, the hero of India's 1983 World Cup victory, had said.

In a roundabout manner, Amarnath also admitted that there were external pressures on the selection committee when the topic of Dhoni's removal was broached.

"In Indian politics and cricket, it's always the same. There are people who are controlling the game and other people are scared to take a stand," he had stated.

"I believe that Dhoni should be removed as captain from the Tests. He hasn't set the Test stage on fire. A captain's place in the team should be secure and I don't see his place secured in the side. He doesn't have the technique for Test cricket," he added.

It was widely believed that the veteran of 69 Tests and 74 ODIs, who was in line to become the chairman of selectors, was removed at the behest of Srinivasan following a fall-out on the Dhoni issue.