Gavaskar urges BCCI to expand Cricket Advisory Committee's role

The brief

Context

Sunil Gavaskar, former India captain, has used his Mid-Day column to argue that the BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) should be given a much wider mandate. At present the CAC's role has centred on selecting the head coach and national selectors, including conducting interviews for those posts. The current CAC appointments date to 2022, when Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjape and Sulakshana Naik were named to the three-member panel, though it is unclear whether the committee still exists in that form or has been disbanded. Gavaskar's call follows his criticism of East Zone settling for the Duleep Trophy title on the basis of a first-innings lead.

Key facts

• Gavaskar wants the CAC's brief expanded beyond selecting selectors and the head coach to cover domestic and international fixtures and "all things related to Indian cricket".
• The current CAC appointments date back to 2022: Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjape and Sulakshana Naik formed the three-member panel.
• Gavaskar wrote that there are no longer any committees in the BCCI today apart from the selection committees and the CAC.
• There is uncertainty over whether the CAC still exists in its current form or has been disbanded.
• Names suggested by Gavaskar for an expanded panel: Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Ravi Shastri, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag.
• He said the BCCI President and Secretary would also be part of such a committee.
• Gavaskar sought a similar advisory committee for women's cricket, where "experience and expertise meet to take calls to take Indian cricket forward".
• The suggestion follows his criticism of East Zone, led by Ishan Kishan, for settling for the Duleep Trophy title on a first-innings lead.

Timeline

1. 1985Gavaskar captains India to the Championship win (World Championship of Cricket), as noted in the source.
2. 2022Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjape and Sulakshana Naik named to the three-member Cricket Advisory Committee.
3. Recent Duleep Trophy finalEast Zone, led by Ishan Kishan, takes the title on the basis of a first-innings lead; Gavaskar criticises the approach and the rule.
4. Present (Mid-Day column)Gavaskar urges the BCCI to expand the CAC's mandate and create a similar panel for women's cricket.

Who has a stake

• BCCI — Would have to decide whether to reconstitute and empower the CAC, and clarify whether the 2022 panel still exists.
• Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) — Its mandate, membership and very existence are in question; could be expanded to fixtures and wider cricket matters.
• Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjape, Sulakshana Naik — The 2022-appointed members whose status is uncertain.
• Former India greats named by Gavaskar — Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Shastri, Kumble, Harbhajan and Sehwag could be drawn into an advisory role.
• India head coach, captain and NCA head — Would interact with a committee that Gavaskar says would carry "heft beyond measure".
• Women's cricket in India — Gavaskar proposes a comparable advisory structure for the women's game.
• Domestic cricketers and teams — Fixtures, scheduling and rules such as deciding finals on first-innings lead would come under advisory scrutiny.

Why it matters

The debate goes to how Indian cricket is governed: whether decisions on scheduling, domestic rules and coaching are taken by administrators alone or with structured input from experienced former players. With the source noting that no BCCI committees remain apart from the selection committees and the CAC, Gavaskar's proposal raises questions about institutional capacity in the world's richest cricket board. His plea for a parallel panel for women's cricket also frames equity in advisory structures.