Yuvraj Singh back in Virat Kohli’s Indian team after BCCI drama delays selection

Vuvraj Singh celebrates with teammate Virat Kohli after the dismissal of Australia's Steve Smith during the World T20 match between India and Australia in Mohali on March 27, 2016. (AFP/Getty Images)

Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra are back and Virat Kohli has formally taken over as Indian cricket team’s ODI and T20 captain. But there was a lot of dramabefore the team selection meeting as the BCCI was confused about how many selectors should pick the squads. The MSK Prasad committee is a five-member panel while the Lodha panel had suggested a three-member panel, all with international experience. However, all five attended the meeting that was chaired by BCCI CEO Rahul Johri. Highlights of the dramatic meeting.
4:51 pm IST: Newly-wed Yuvraj Singh has a fabulous ODI record against England. In 34 games, Yuvraj Singh has scored 1,313 runs at an average of 48, with three hundreds.

Yuvraj Singh and Hazel Keech during their marriage in Panchkula on November 30, 2016. (PTI)

4:48 pm SIT: The selectors have named the squads for the two warm-up games against England.
India A team for 2nd warm-up tie: R Pant, A Rahane (capt), Raina, Hooda, Kishan, S Jackson, V Shankar, Nadeem, Rasool, V Kumar, Sangwan, Dinda.
India A team for 1st warm-up tie: Shikhar, Mandeep, Rayudu, Yuvraj, Dhoni (capt), Pandya, Samson, Kuldeep, Chahal, Nehra, Mohit Sharma, S Kaul
4:45 pm IST: Suresh Raina has been roped in only for the T20 series as has been the young Rishabh Pant. It has been a breakthrough season in the Ranji Trophy for Pant, who amassed 972 runs in 12 innings, including a triple century against Maharashtra in a league fixture. With a strike of 107.28 and an average of 81 in those eight matches, Pant had done enough to impress the selectors
4:42 pm IST: Yuvraj Singh, back in the limited overs team after three years, has been picked for his fine performance in domestic cricket, says chief selector MSK Prasad.
4:36 PM IST: Team for 3 T20Is: Virat (Capt), MS Dhoni (wk), Mandeep, Rahul, Yuvraj, Raina, Rishabh, Pandya, Ashwin,Jadeja,Chahal,Manish, Bumrah, Bhuvi, Nehra
4:35 pm IST: Team for 3 ODIs: Virat (C), MS Dhoni (wk), Rahul, Shikhar, Manish, Kedar, Yuvraj, Ajinkya, Pandya, Ashwin, Jadeja, Mishra, Bumrah, Bhuvi, Umesh
4:33 pm IST: Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra are back in the limited overs squad. That’s a big surprise.
4:22 pm IST: As expected, Virat Kohli has been named India’s limited overs captain. He replaces Dhoni. Kohli’s first match in-charge will be the first ODI against England in Pune on January 15.
4:20 pm IST: MSK Prasad has started his press briefing. This is his first media briefing! Looks quite excited.
4:10 pm IST: The team selection is over and the press conference with chief selector MSK Prasad is about to start. Standby for the squads. Live updates here.
4:07 pm IST: Mahendra Singh Dhoni should be an automatic choice for the wicket-keeper-batsman slot.  of the Indian cricket team.
4 pm IST: It’s becoming quite a long meeting. The selectors are grappling with a few injuries and there is a long home season to attend. A few juniors like Rishabh Pant may make the cut in the limited overs teams.
3:53 pm IST: Meanwhile, BCCI has wished the great Kapil Dev on his 57th birthday. In 1983 when Kapil’s Devil’s won the World Cup at Lord’s , who would have wondered that the Board will be run by Supreme Court-appointed officers one day!
3:45 pm IST: Venkatest Prasad comes out of the meeting. The former Indian pacer from Karnataka is head of the BCCI’s junior selection panel. He was to pick an Indian Under-19 team. Follow live updates here
3:39 pm IST: Rahul Johri was appointed interim manager by the Supreme Court to handle BCCI affairs after Anurag Thakur was axed. Johri’s main business was to handle the Board’s financial affairs.

Rahul Johri, the BCCI CEO, is chairing Friday’s team selection meeting to pick India squad for the ODI and T20 series against England. Catch live updates here. (AFP)

3:32 pm IST: The BCCI selection committee meeting has finally begun. BCCI CEO Rahul Johri is the chairman of the meeting. Normally, the secretary chairs the meeting. Now that Ajay Shirke has been axed by the Supreme Court, Johri has to do this job. Surely, Johri never saw this coming. Our reporter Sanjjeev Samyal is at BCCI’s Mumbai office giving us live updates of the selection meeting.
3: 23 pm IST: It is also important to recall the man who never gave up in his war on ethics on the BCCI bosses. Aditya Verma, who leads the unrecognised Cricket Association of Bihar, has actually got rid of two strongmen in India cricket -- N. Srinivasan and Anurag Thakur.
3:21 pm IST: It is after the Supreme Court sacked its president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke.
3:16 pm IST: The selection committee meeting was scheduled to start at 12:30pm but was delayed for a number of times. While the BCCI spokesperson came in at 1:30pm to state that the meeting was delayed due to logistical reasons, the presence of Devang Gandhi suggested otherwise. This has shown BCCI in poor light once again.
3:10 pm IST: Two of the current selectors, Jatin Paranjape and Gagan Khoda, who were nominated by the BCCI on September 21, have not played a single Test. The other three, MSK Prasad, Sarandeep Singh and Devang Gandhi have combined experience of less than 25 Tests.
3:06 pm IST: The Lodha panel had suggested three selectors with proper credentials. A defiant BCCI had picked five selectors during its controversial AGM in September last year. MSK Prasad, the 41-year-old wicketkeeper from Andhra Pradesh, replaced Sandeep Patil as chief selector. Prasad played six Tests and scored 106 runs.
3:01 pm IST: The Lodha committee reforms will be implemented by a Supreme Court-appointed set of observers for the BCCI. These observers will be named on January 19.
2:57 pm IST: The meeting is expected to start in 10 minutes, says a BCCI spokesman. The Lodha committee has advised the Board to go ahead with the selection committee meeting. In an email to the BCCI CEO, the Lodha committee said: “The Committee is in receipt of your email. It is clarified that Mr. Amitabh Choudhary stands disqualified and is no longer the joint secretary of the BCCI or an office bearer of the BCCI or a State Association by virtue of the orders of the Supreme Court dated 2.1.2017 and 3.1.2017. As a result, he has no authority to interfere with the BCCI and it’s functioning or with the directions of this Committee. Please proceed with the Selection Committee Meeting as scheduled.”
2:52 pm IST: The meeting is already delayed by more than two hours. The BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary is apparently trying to delay the process by raising technical objections on the implementation of the Lodha panel recommendations.
Kohli is already India’s Test captain and has been on a roll with five successive Test series wins. Kohli’s elevation as limited overs captain was given after.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will continue to serve the Indian cricket team as a wicket-keeper-batsman.