Amidst heavy speculation that Sourav Ganguly is being considered for a coaching role with the Indian team, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur on Monday said the Board is yet to take a decision on the matter.
It has been speculated that Ganguly could either become chairman of advisory panel, High Performance Manager, Team Director or the chief coach of the national team.
"Sourav's contribution to Indian cricket has been great. He's been a great cricketer. It will be worth waiting and whatever will be decided, will be in the interest of the Indian cricket. There's a lot of speculation in the media regarding Sourav and the role of the coach. Give us some time to decide on that," Thakur said after the IPl Governing Council meeting.
"We've already picked the team for Bangladesh and as far as the coach and support staff is concerned we would announce soon," he said.
"Today (Monday) I'm here and will meet the president (Jagmohan Dalmiya) so we will make the announcement soon. We will take certain decisions as far as the series in Bangladesh is concerned after meeting Dalmiya. The moment we decide we'll make a formal announcement," Thakur said.
On the resumption of India-Pakistan series, Thakur said things were yet to be sorted out and the tour would be on only after a mutual agreement.
"PCB chief has met Mr Dalmiya and met me also. He has raised certain issues. There are many things that need to be looked into. Once we have agreement on certain issues, we'll make a formal announcement and if need be the tour will take place."
Asked about reports of Sachin Tendulkar being inducted to advisory committee, he said, "We're talking to many cricketers for the advisory board. We're waiting for the go ahead. A formal committee will be formed after going ahead."
He also hailed IPl chairman Rajeev Shukla, who was addressing the media jointly, for a "controversy-free" conclusion of the IPl season eight.
On reports of a few matches under scanner, he said, "There's been many rumours. Only one report when a player approached and the player immediately went to the ACU and reported."
There were also suggestions that the 4PM matches would be done away with and Shukla said they're still working out.
Selectors keeping tab on youngsters
Thakur said that the national selection committee is keeping a close tab on the young Indian talent as they have visited multiple venues to get an idea about the performers during the just-concluded Pl.
"Many selectors have been visiting many venues. They are aware of the young players' performances. The BCCI is also keeping an eye. It's a platform that gives ample opportunities to a young player," Thakur said.
The BCCI secretary's own observation is that "a young cricketer learns much more in two months of IPl than they would learn in 5-10 years".
He then cited the example of Mandeep Singh batting in company of AB de Villiers. "Mandeep and AB were batting you can evaluate your player. Mandeep was looking more aggressive and better while facing the same bowlers in similar conditions. You can make similar comparisons, so it's easier for selectors to pick players from the IPl," the secretary said.
He was also open to the idea of Test match specialists like Cheteshwar Pujara honing their skills in county cricket if they are not playing IPl.
Thakur also initimated the media that BCCI has chalked out a calender in such a manner so that the accent is more T20 Internationals keeping in mind the World T20 next year.
"We have World T20 for men's and women's here so we have designed our calendar (in) such a way that limited overs cricket would be ahead of the first class cricket. We’re organising Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 much ahead."
The secretary also spoke about the need to invest in women's cricket and the decision to start a contract system for the likes of Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami.