Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi, Dec 03: Dilip Vengsarkar`s exit from the selection panel appears to be certain with the chief selector making up his mind to call it quits after his request for reconsidering the guidelines was rejected by the BCCI. The Indian board on the other hand said that, if the chairman of selectors wants to quit, he is free to do so. BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla reiterated Indian Board’s stance by saying, “As a BCCI representative, I would like to suggest that it is totally Vengsarkar’s decision and he is free to quit.”
Shukla said, “Vengsarkar wrote a letter to BCCI in which he said that the guidelines proposed by the Board should be taken back otherwise he will quit. But these guidelines are proposed according to the constitution and rules of BCCI and the rules cannot be bended for an individual.
Earlier, the cricket board decided not to consider Vengsarkar`s request and made it clear that it will not bow to his threat of stepping down from his post.
An unruffled board, however, said it`s up to Vengsarkar to decide whether he wants to continue as the chief selector and he should rather focus on his job than worry about personal issues.
"He (Vengsarkar) wants to step down. He had spoken to BCCI president Sharad Pawar and expressed willingness to step down," Shukla had then said.
"The board`s view is that on December 5 we have a meeting of the selection committee to pick the squad for the Australia tour, which is more important than personal issues.
"The national interest is more important. He should first focus on that and personal issues can be discussed later," Shukla had said.
Asked why Vengsarkar offered to resign in the middle of a series when things were more or less settled between him and the board, Shukla said there were different opinions on the seven-point guidelines issued to the selectors.
"There are certain issues on which he has got a different point of view like the guidelines which have been issued about not writing the column and about the selectors going to watch the matches," Shukla said.
The former cricketer was upset with BCCI’s decision which barred him from writing the columns in newspapers.
"He is no longer willing to work in these circumstances unless the board reconsiders its stance. He has made up his mind to put in his papers," a source close to Vengsarkar said.
"He is someone who will not compromise with his integrity. He does not want to continue in this fashion," the source added.
The former cricketer has kept his fellow selectors in the loop on this issue and is in no mood to compromise. Yesterday, Vengsarkar met East Zone selector Ranjib Biswal, who is in Mumbai to watch the Ranji Trophy super league encounter between the hosts and Maharashtra.
