Patel welcomes Chappell’s decision to stay in Bangalore

Calcutta: Former India player and national selection committee chairman Brijesh Patel is in favour of a voting right for Greg Chappell in the selection committee.

Patel, now the director of the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy (NCA), feels that a definite say in the selection process will help the new Team India coach discharge his functions “effectively.”

“If Chappell is made a part of the selection committee and given a voting right, I think it’ll help him,” Patel told the reporters here on Wednesday.

Patel was in the city to attend the BCCI’s New Areas Development Committee meeting, which aimed at setting up cricketing infrastructures in under-developed areas.

According to Patel, views of the Australian’s predecessor, John Wright of New Zealand, were sought while picking Indian teams for various tournaments and “now, if Chappell is given a voting right, that process will be taken forward.”

The new coach’s decision to set up base in Bangalore is also good for the Indian cricket as a whole, Patel felt, stressing on the fact that the NCA is based there.

“On the one hand, Chappell will be in a position to watch the upcoming stars and on the other, they can feel encouraged by his presence,” Patel said.

Meanwhile, the committee has agreed upon a blueprint for starting new tournaments in under-developed areas. The committee’s recommendations have been forwarded to the working committee.

According to BCCI joint secretary Gautam Das Gupta, who convened the meeting, the under-17 and under-19 meets will be held in February-March, involving North-East states, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Pondicherry, Daman and Diu and Chandigarh.

The process of training and providing infrastructural support to these areas ? except the North-East states ? gets underway next month. The North-East areas will be taken care of between October and December, once the monsoon gets over there.