Virender Sehwag demands equal rewards for Indian selectors after T20 World Cup 2024 triumph

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag has demanded the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to give the same bonus to the National Selection Committee that they are awarding the Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team for winning the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

After India’s historic T20 World Cup 2024 triumph in Barbados, the BCCI announced an INR 125 crore bonus for the Men in Blue, and now Sehwag has called for an equal bonus for the Ajit Agarkar-headed Indian Selection Committee, saying they have also done a remarkable job as selectors.

Virender Sehwag calls for equal appreciation for Indian selectors in T20 World Cup 2024 success

The former Indian opener praised the selection committee for their strategic choices in forming the team for the T20 World Cup in 2024. Sehwag highlighted the collective effort of the selection panel, comprising chairman Agarkar and selectors Shiv Sunder Das, Subroto Banerjee, Salil Ankola, and Sridharan Sarath, in crafting a well-rounded squad for the tournament.

Sehwag emphasized that Ajit and his selection team worked cohesively, contributing their insights and backing the players they believed would perform well under the conditions anticipated in the Caribbean. So, they also deserved the same appreciation and bonus that the players were getting.

The former Indian opener has noted that Agarkar played a crucial role, but it was a team effort with valuable inputs from all five selectors in selecting a T20 World Cup 2024 winning team. He expressed his admiration for their ability to balance the team's composition and their farsightedness in picking players suited for the tournament's unique challenges.

In addition to praising the selectors, Sehwag saluted and congratulated the selectors for their strategic planning amid the Indian team’s warm welcome and facilitation ceremony in Delhi. He also mentioned that, apart from Agarkar, the other four selectors are also his friends and are from our batch.

Virender Sehwag demands BCCI to honor Indian selectors' contribution to T20 World Cup 2024 triumph

Virender Sehwag said on Cricbuzz: “They knew what they were doing. Ajit always says, not just to me, that I am making a team on my own. Our four selectors also give their opinions. They also have good thinking. They also back the players they select. Because in the end, if 3 out of 5 selectors are agree, only then your team gets selected."

Sehwag added, "It's not that Ajit Agarkar is saying that he is making the team. The rest of the four agree with him. So, I think the team was selected by five selectors, keeping in mind that we will play in the West Indies. We can get a slow, low wicket. There can be a total of 150–160 winnings. For that, confident batters—not just those who have a strike rate of 200—are needed.

A strike rate of 150–120 also works there. Keeping that in mind, they picked the team, and hats off to all the selectors: Ajit Agarkar, Shiv Sunder Das, Subroto Banerjee, Salil Ankola, and Sridharan Sarath. All of them have done a good job. The players, who get the bonus and appreciation, should also get it.”

Notably, the second-string Indian team is already in Zimbabwe for the five-match T20I series, starting on July 6 in Harare. Shubman Gill will captain the national side, while VVS Laxam will be acting as head coach on the Zimbabwe tour.