CUTTACK 24-Aug-2018
Former India swing bowler and Odisha Ranji team coach Debasis Mohanty was today appointed as member of the BCCI men’s Junior National Selection Committee. He filled the vacancy created by Venkatesh Prasad, who resigned earlier in March this year.
The Committee of Administrators, which is now running the BCCI, appointed Mohanty as new selector after the Supreme Court restored the number of members in each selection committee to five members.
The selection committee had been reduced to a three-member panel as per the directions of the Lodha Committee, but the SC on August 9 restored the number to five.
The junior selection committee will pick two India U-19 teams participating in a U-19 Quadrangular One-Day Tournament to be played at Kolkata from September 9 and the India U-19 Team for the Youth Asia Cup to be played at Dhaka from September 27.
Other four member of the Junior National Selection Committee are: Ashish Kapoor, Rakesh Parikh, Gyanendra Pandey and Amit Sharma. Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) congratulated Mohanty on his new appointment and wished him a very successful stint.
In his international career, Mohanty played two Tests in 1997 and 45 ODIs between 1997 and 2001. He captured four wickets in his two Tests and 57 in ODIs. As a member of the Indian team, swing bolwer Mohanty bagged 10 wickets in 1999 World Cup in England.
Starting his First-Class career in 1996, Mohanty became the highest wicket-taker of Odisha with 417 scalps from 117 matches. He also scored 1553 runs including five half-centuries. In 129 List-A matches, Mohanty took 160 wickets.
Mohanty became the head coach of Odisha Ranji team in 2011, replacing Michael Bevan of Australia. He regained the post for the ensuing season after being replaced by former India Test opener Shiv Sundar Das for the season 2017-18.
But being the National selector now, Mohanty will not be available as head coach of Odisha Ranji team. After latest development, the Working Committee of OCA today appointed former Odisha captain Rashmi Ranjan Parida as the new head coach of the State Ranji Team for the season 2018-19.
Similarly former Railway off-spinner Kulamani Parida was appointed as member of OCA Senior Selection Committee in place of Rashmi Ranjan Parida. Decisions regarding new appointments were unanimously taken by members of OCA Working Committee over phone.
The five-member Working Committee has Chairman Dhiren Pallai, Convener Rabi Sankar Pratihari and members Dulal Chandra Pradhan, Saroj Kumar Sahu, and Janardan Dash.
