Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has called on the BCCI to make better use of the experience of former Indian cricketers. He believes the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) should be given a much bigger role in matters related to Indian cricket.
At present, the CAC’s main responsibility has been to play a part in the appointment of selectors and the head coach. Gavaskar feels its role should go beyond that and include areas such as domestic and international scheduling and other key decisions concerning Indian cricket.
The CAC was last reconstituted in 2022, when Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjape and Sulakshana Naik were appointed to the panel. Traditionally, the committee has been involved mainly in choosing the head coach and selectors, while its current status is not entirely clear.
Gavaskar also named several former India greats who, in his view, could bring valuable experience to an expanded CAC. The names he mentioned included Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, along with Ravi Shastri, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag.
Gavaskar feels a committee featuring such experienced figures could have a strong voice when dealing with the India head coach, captain and the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
He also suggested that women’s cricket could have a separate advisory committee with former players playing a similar role.
“Just thinking about this gives one goosebumps. Will it ever happen, or is it just a dream?” he concluded.